2023-11-27 20:39:58
Words on the registers of condolences, tears and tributes… This Monday, the inhabitants of Lyon (Rhône), anonymous or acquaintances of the former mayor, said goodbye to Gérard Collomb, who died on Saturday at the age of 76, and who, three mandates lasting (between 2001 and 2020), transformed the city. The instructions were simple: no flowers but urns to raise funds for the HCL Foundation (Hospices Civils de Lyon).
This Wednesday, the coffin installed in the atrium of the town hall, with direct access from Place des Terreaux, will make a final journey to the Saint-Jean primatial church in the 5th arrondissement where the funeral of the ex- Minister of the Interior are scheduled for 11 a.m. Alongside his wife Caroline and the couple’s five children, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron – of whom Gérard Collomb was one of the most prominent supporters during the 2017 election – and his wife Brigitte, will attend the ceremony.
VIDEO. Death of Gérard Collomb, former Minister of the Interior under Emmanuel Macron and ex-mayor of Lyon
The president’s very sober tribute published on X (formerly Twitter) — “Gérard Collomb is dead. He was the worthy successor of Édouard Herriot. The Lyonnais are orphans and I share their grief. » — was freshly welcomed in the capital of Gaul. Some residents, still overcome with emotion, judged him to be minimalist “with regard to a man who gave him so much”.
This Monday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne also confirmed her presence, as did the former President of the Republic François Hollande, who praised the politician’s unfailing commitment to his city: “Gérard Collomb, it’s was Lyon and Lyon, it’s still Gérard Collomb,” he declared on France Info.
Buried in the Loyasse cemetery
A man whom residents continued to call “Mr. Mayor” until his last breath, as recalled yesterday by oncologist Thierry Philip, former mayor of the 3rd arrondissement and friend of Gérard Collomb, invited to speak at of the tribute at the town hall: “Gérard knew every street in Lyon (…) For the people of Lyon, he will remain Mr. Mayor,” he declared.
Like Édouard Herriot, the only mayor whose coffin was exhibited to the inhabitants in 1957, Gérard Collomb will be buried in the Loyasse cemetery, “Lyon’s Père-Lachaise”. His lifelong friend Roland Bernard told France 3 that Gérard Collomb would have liked to be buried alongside his illustrious predecessor, whose majestic tomb is located at the entrance to the cemetery: “I don’t know if this wish will be granted, but if we could make the effort to put him next to Édouard Herriot, I think the Lyonnais would appreciate this gesture. »
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