The body of the mayor, Hervé Neau was discovered by his collaborators this morning in his office at the town hall of Rezé. In the town the emotion is strong, this new mayor, former teacher had the esteem of parents and his former students.
The staff of the town hall and the Rezéens aware of the information are in shock. The lifeless body of Mayor Hervé Neau was discovered in his office this Friday morning February 11, 2022. His death dates back to Thursday evening 10.
The public prosecutoric that suicide by hanging is beyond doubt, “he left letters for his relatives, and instructions for his funeral”.
On the place of May 8, it is the big weekly market, the information has already circulated this mid-morning. Martine at 70, tears in her eyes, “He was young, why do that?”, she asks herself. A neighbor in the line in front of the fishmonger’s stall knew Hervé Neau, “He was the teacher of my children, it’s awful. Such a nice man, so benevolent”.
In front of the town hall, a handful of journalists are waiting for information. who do not come. In the common house, a number of municipal councilors have gathered. Some communications are possible by sms. Sylvia, city councilor says to herself “in shock, we have just lost a friend”.
Passers-by stop, it is not yet noon, the municipal employees lower the flags. Barbara came with her two daughters, they lay a bouquet of white flowers. “He was the teacher of my daughters, a beautiful person. Full of humor, maybe shy? Definitely reserved”the blades rise to his eyes to his memories.
White beard and messy hair, here is Jacques Floch. One of the political figures of the commune, municipal councilor from 1971 to 2001, he was mayor of Rezé for four terms, deputy for Loire-Atlantique, and secretary of state for veterans. Here, his word still counts.
He walks forward visibly troubled, moved. “I’ve known Hervé since he was a kid. He went to school with my son. He was like me, a social democrat, and even if we had differences of affiliation, he’s a socialist!”
Jacques Floch evokes the difficulty of being mayor, “People see us inaugurating the chrysanthemums, but it’s a lot of work, time spent, blows received, you have to know how to resist”. Hervé Neau had asked his eldest to work on the memory of the town, the involvement of the Rezéens in the Algerian war. Her voice breaks
I loved him very much, he was going, in this metropolis that we built, to become a great mayor of Rezé
Jacques Floch, former mayor and deputy of Rezé.
Hervé Neau, 58, was elected mayor of Rezé on July 3, 2020. He had succeeded with his left-wing list Rezé Citoyenne to Gérard Allard (PS), of whom he had been a municipal councilor. Rezé is the 4th commune of Loire-Atlantique with more than 42,000 inhabitants.
Hervé Neau was a personality appreciated by the inhabitants of the town, in particular for having been a teacher there, director of the elementary public school of Chêne Creux. He had also chaired the Amicale de Pont Rousseau.
Just recently he announced that he would sign off as mayor to the winning candidate of the Citizens’ Primary. She has since figured prominently in the Constitutional Council in favor of Christiane Taubira.
Hervé Neau was married and father of two children.
As soon as the news became known, elected officials or social officials expressed their emotion.
Johanna Rolland, PS mayor of Nantes and president of Nantes Métropole, underlines the drama and the shock caused by the disappearance of the mayor of Rezé, “we are losing a man of great quality, sincere, involved, bearer of strong values”.
Dominique Raimbourg, the boss of the PS in Loire-Atlantique, wants to greet “a man of commitment, concerned about the future of his town and its inhabitants”.
Michel Ménard, the PS president of the Loire-Atlantique Department Council, retains “his commitment to education, school, for a long time a popular education activist”.
On the right, it is Rodolphe Amailland who reacts first and speaks as a representative of the mayors of the Nantes vineyards, he underlines “Hervé Neau’s attachment to education, his commitment to the inhabitants of Rezé. All the towns of the Nantes vineyard stand fully alongside its neighbor Rezé”. Adding, “all of us united for the common good of the inhabitants”.
And it is perhaps he who brings a beginning of understanding to this desperate gesture:
The tragic death of a mayor is a tragedy that transcends all divisions. It is a national drama that affects us all as elected representatives of the French Republic.
Rodolphe Amailland, Mayor of Vertou
The CGT union of staff of the city of Rezé, wishes to point out “the engaged dialogue which augured a real desire to improve working conditions, and salutes its conception of public service and its commitment to serving residents”.
All address to his family first, to the elected officials and the inhabitants of the commune their most sincere condolences.