“We will miss our little man in blue”, “The legend of Limoges has disappeared”, “Sweet gentleman that he was”. Overalls, green boots and always on his bicycle. Over the years, Jean-Marc Chatard became a symbol of Limoges (Haute-Vienne) where he crisscrossed the streets and surrounding areas perched on his bike. Yes, but now, Limougauds will no longer come across this emblematic cyclist when leaving for work in the morning. The 74-year-old former mason died in a traffic accident on Friday. Injured in the neck, the retiree died in hospital.
Initially, the motorist who hit the cyclist from behind, leaving him on the side of the departmental road, fled, triggering a call for witnesses from the gendarmes. But the driver eventually went to the police on his own. According to local media, he admitted to being the author of the accident and was taken into police custody.
“We worried when we didn’t see him in the evening when we got home”
For many years, Jean-Marc Chatard was part of the Limoges landscape, becoming, probably unintentionally, a “symbol of freedom” and of the fight of cyclists against motorists. In 2006, the man in blue, who explained that he had never tried to get his driving test, confided in an article in Le Populaire cited by the blog of the Véli-vélo association, that he “loves” cycling.
The car? Very little for him… “I had a cart once, but my windshield was broken,” confided the retiree, affected by a disability. The deceased will have ridden a Solex a few times, but it was with pedal strokes that he preferred to ride around Limoges and the region where he was from. “Cars are trash! There are people who annoy me. Real filth! », he grumbled in the pages of the local newspaper.
“He was still brave”
“He was the emblematic cyclist of Limoges, known to everyone for decades,” writes the Véli-Vélo association on its blog. “He was an endearing character, known in Limoges and throughout the eastern sector of the city. He was part of the landscape, and we worried when we didn't come across him in the evening when we came home,” recalls for France 3, Bernard Thalamy, the mayor of Aureil, the town where the man in blue lived. “We saw him more and more walking on hills next to his bike. But despite the weight of his years, he was still brave,” adds the councilor.
“When I passed him on the road, I said to myself, I’m going to have a good day. Like everyone from Limougeaud, I think he had a touching side, confides to France 3 Selim Ennjimi, co-founder of the blog “the man in blue”. It was quite unlikely to see this gentleman cycling in overalls and boots, despite his age. He has become a real territorial marker. We weren't Limougeaud before seeing the man in blue. »
“Generous and loved by all, he was an integral part of our community,” says the author of a petition demanding that the city erect a statue or name a street in honor of the deceased septuagenarian.
In tribute to the “man in blue”, the Véli-Vélo association is organizing a rally on Saturday in front of Limoges town hall. Outfit required? No surprise: “If you can, come dressed in blue and with boots. »
