“He was above all passionate about his city,” greets his ex-deputy Yann Cucherat

The former mayor of Lyon and former Minister of the Interior died on Saturday at the age of 76.

“Gérard was passionate, he was in the middle of his city and its inhabitants” And “obviously it included major sporting festivals, major cultural festivals. Above all, he was passionate about his city”, greets Sunday November 26 on franceinfo Yann Cucherat, former deputy of Gérard Collomb. The former mayor of Lyon died on Saturday at the age of 76. “He was a mayor with a national and even international dimension, he was very close to the people”also says Yann Cucherat.

Gérard Colomb had a big impact on Lyon and the Lyonnais, “simply because he transformed it. He gave his life to this city”, continues the one who was Gérard Collomb’s foal in the last municipal elections. Yann Cucherat lost these elections to the ecologist Grégory Doucet. Gérard Collomb “devoted 40 years” of his life in this city, “20 years as mayor, 20 years as an opponent to conquer this city, with this strong desire to assume being mayor and transform it”he confides.

Gérard Collomb “was proud of this city, of its influence on the international scene. He had made it a rival of the greatest European capitals. He was the greatest ambassador of this city for many years and it is normal that at this “The Lyonnais who live this city on a daily basis pay tribute to him because they know what they owe him.”

“Improving the daily lives of Lyon residents”

Yann Cucherat recognizes the importance of the former mayor of Lyon and former Minister of the Interior in his career and his life, “he was someone very important to me. He came to look for me at the end of my gymnastics career. I did not at all predestined myself to enter politics. He trusted me and very quickly we we had a special relationship”he explains.

There was between the two men “a relationship based on trust and loyalty. We fought a lot of battles together to try to improve the daily lives of the people of Lyon” And “we had some defeats, notably the last municipal elections, but we never left each other and he continued to move forward until his last breath. It’s hard for me as for all our friends who fought alongside him to try to carry his vision and today we are all greatly affected by his disappearance.”recognizes Yann Cucherat.