“I said love. I said freedom.” These words, taken from the poem “Ode to the country that does not want to die” by Alexandre Voisard and taken up by the crowd during the People’s Day in 1967, had a profound impact on people’s minds. They were again at the center of attention on Saturday in Fontenais, this time during the funeral of their author, a prominent figure in the Jura who died during the night from Monday to Tuesday.
A contribution for the region
“Love”. “Freedom”. Alexandre Voisard knew how to maintain them, meant several personalities and members of his family. During the farewell mass celebrated by Father Bernard Miserez in a packed church, Minister Martial Courtet and the Secretary General of the Jura Autonomist Movement Pierre-André Comte particularly praised the poet’s contribution to his region. The minister underlined the importance of the artistic and moral awakening which marked the Jura during its quest for independence. “Rare people owe their freedom so much to artists,” he said. Pierre-André Comte also highlighted the poet’s unfailing commitment to the Jura cause. “Alexandre Voisard was the messenger of just and delicate feelings of truth and beauty. His books, his poems, his immense work will remain in the memory of his people”, he considered, recalling that the poet wrote so as not to die.
Write to continue existing? Saturday in Fontenais, the work of Alexandre Voisard resonated, thanks in particular to his close friend and actor Thierry Romanens who theatrically took up his poems. “Do you want it? Would you like it? I said love. I said freedom,” he chanted.
A poet dad
Alexandre Voisard’s children also shared touching secrets about the unusual life of their poet dad. “For a very long time, the mystery of the poet reigned supreme. His aspirations, his projects, they did not expose them. All of a sudden, the book appeared before our eyes as if by enchantment. The poet immersed in the nocturnal universe then appeared in broad daylight”, they said, not hiding that having been his children was a chance, especially in certain aspects… “Dad said love. Dad said freedom And we, his children, said yay! “, they slipped, revealing that they were entitled to a lot of freedom during their childhood. That of choosing their activities, their sports, even that of skipping classes…
But for them, “Coco” was above all a guide, a dad who was “very present, even though he was often absent” and who loved feeling surrounded by his family. Her children also did not forget to highlight their mother, Thérèse, a “guardian angel”.
