A septuagenarian cyclist, nicknamed “the man in blue”, was fatally hit by a car on Friday November 8. His death caused a lot of emotion because he always traveled by bike in overalls, he was considered an “iconic” figure.
The town of Limoges, in Haute-Vienne, lost an icon this Friday, November 8. A 74-year-old cyclist known as “the man in blue, died when hit by a car, causing great emotion among Limougeauds. Since the 1990s, Jean-Marc Chatard walked the streets of the city on the saddle of his bike dressed in overalls and rubber boots.
“When I passed him on the road, I said to myself, I’m going to have a good day,” Selim Ennjimi, co-founder of a blog in his name, told France 3 The Man in Blue. On this blog, and on the adjoining social networks, local news and cultural offers from Limoges were shared.
“Like all Limougeaud, I think he had a touching side. It was quite improbable to see this gentleman cycling in overalls and boots, despite his age. He became a real territorial marker. We were not “I don't come to Limougaud until I see the man in blue,” he adds.
A person placed in police custody
Jean-Marc Chatard was knocked down around 6:20 p.m. this Friday in Eyjeaux, a town of a thousand inhabitants near Limoges, by a car which fled. Injured in the neck, the former mason died in hospital during the night from Friday to Saturday.
The gendarmerie, which opened an investigation, had issued a call for witnesses in order to find the motorist concerned. This call for witnesses was finally lifted this Saturday, November 9 because “a person presented himself at the end of the morning at a gendarmerie in the department and was placed in police custody”, wrote the Haute-Vienne gendarmerie on Facebook specifying that “the investigation continues”.
“Limoges is losing its emblem,” declared Charles, a restaurateur in town, to Le Populaire du center, the local newspaper, which devoted a front page appeal to this accident. “You can imagine the importance of this character. He had, without having asked for anything, his Facebook page, a newspaper bore his name. He was the man in blue, but I have the blues.”
The mayor of the town of Aureil where “the man in blue” resided declared that he “was part of the landscape”.
“We worried when we didn’t see him in the evening when we came home,” he confides.
A gathering in his honor this Saturday
The city's Véli-Vélo association called for people to pay tribute to him this Saturday, November 16 in front of Limoges town hall before “strolling on foot and by bike around the city center.”
“He was the emblematic cyclist of Limoges, known to everyone for decades. We mourn the memory of the man and the symbol he represented”, adds the association on Facebook.
This association says it is concerned about “the increase in motorized violence against cyclists”. This is the 2nd fatal accident involving cyclists in 2 months on two kilometers of this road, and the 4th cyclist killed in one year in Limoges Métropole”, she adds, calling on the Department to develop “real cycling infrastructure along the its roads.
Juliette Brossault with AFP
