VIDEO. Death of Jean-Claude Gaudin, the baron who ruled Marseille for twenty-five years

The former mayor from Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Jean-Claude Gaudin, died on Monday May 20, at the age of 84, France Bleu Provence learned from its secretary. He took over as head of the municipality in June 1995 and remained in this position until 2020, ending a half-century political career also marked by mandates of senator, deputy and minister of regional planning, cities and integration under Jacques Chirac between 1995 and 1997.

“The one who matters most is the mayor”declared this son of Marseille, who over the decades became the baron of the city. “It’s like a boa constrictor: it hugs you”, described Renaud Muselier, who was his first deputy for a long time. He notably made Marseille a European capital of culture, where he gave birth to Mucem in 2013, failing to lift the municipality out of the poverty which affects it widely. His end of reign was mourned by the tragedy of the rue d’Aubagne, which left eight people dead.