Anne-Marie Comparini died during the night from Saturday to Sunday in Lyon.
Recently failing to become a local figure in Macronie, she had her heyday in the 1990s.
While at the UDF, Anne-Marie Comparini was president of the Rhône-Alpes region (1999-2004), elected with the votes of the left after the invalidation of the election of Charles Millon by the Council of State. Before that, she was deputy mayor of Lyon in charge of Universities and City Policy under Raymond Barre.
The 2000s sounded the death knell for her elected career, spent under the MoDem label. She first lost the Region to the socialist Jean-Jack Queyranne in 2004, then returned her sash as deputy for the 1st constituency of Lyon by losing largely to Michel Havard (UMP) during the 2007 legislative elections.
The young MP's victory was, however, marred by an insult pronounced by Patrick Devedjian. Congratulating Havard in front of the TLM camera, the president of the Hauts-de-Seine Department at the time called Comparini a “slut”. Enough to cause an uproar at the time, forcing Devedjian to apologize flatly.
After her defeat in the legislative elections, this close friend of François Bayrou decided to withdraw from political life, remaining however a regional councilor until 2010. She then accepted a mission entrusted by Gérard Collomb: that of president of the Development Council of the Metropolis of Lyon, which she stopped in 2021.
Tributes paid
Former MP Thomas Rudigoz, who began his career alongside him, paid tribute to him: “It is with immense sadness that I learned of the death of Anne-Marie Comparini, former President of the Rhône-Alpes Region and former Member of Parliament for Lyon. Courage, sense of duty, unfailing commitment to general interest were the values she carried throughout her life”.
“She was a woman of conviction and a great figure in Lyon politics. My heartfelt thoughts go to her family and loved ones”also reacted Pierre Oliver, LR mayor of the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon.
The president of the Lyon Metropolis Bruno Bernard greets him “woman of value and convictions. She will remain an essential figure in our region. The first woman to president of Rhône-Alpes, between 1999 and 2004, she knew how to take her responsibilities in a troubled period, courageously opposing the far right Her commitment went well beyond her mandates: she left her mark on the Lyon Metropolitan Development Council, where her vision and sense of dialogue were invaluable..
