François Léotard, former Minister of Defense and Culture, died at the age of 81, announces Emmanuel Macron

“François Léotard served the State and carried a great idea of ​​culture. With his disappearance, we are losing a free spirit, a man of books and commitment”. The former Minister of Defense (1993-1995) and Culture (1986-1988), under the presidency of François Mitterrand, François Léotard, died at the age of 81, announced on Tuesday April 25, Emmanuel Macron on Twitter.

François Léotard served the State and carried a great idea of ​​culture. With his passing, we lose a free spirit, a man of books and commitment. His native Var, the France he defended, the Republic he loved are experiencing a great loss today.

—Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 25, 2023

The former president of the UDF, deputy and mayor of Fréjus (Var), had been sentenced by the Court of Justice of the Republic in the Karachi case, in March 2021, to a two-year suspended prison sentence for “complicity” in the abuse of corporate assets while heading the Ministry of Defense. He had appealed the decision, like the other convicts.