Nearly three hundred people marched, dressed in blue, on Saturday November 16, in Limoges to pay tribute to the “man in blue”, a septuagenarian cyclist fatally hit by a car last week. An emblematic figure of the city, Jean-Marc Chatard, 74, had been traveling the roads of the department for years, dressed in his overalls and rubber boots.
On November 8, this former mason and farmer died from his injuries after being hit by a car on a local road that he used to take to return home.
“His overalls, his rubber boots and especially his bicycle were his everyday companions. He was a unique and loved person in Limoges, even if he was never fully aware of it. His simplicity, his smile were part of the soul of our city”declared his great-niece Mathilde Lavergne.
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“Cruel lack” of facilities
In 2020, a pastry shop garnished its Epiphany kings pancakes with a bean bearing his image. A website which listed good addresses also bore his nickname. After his death, the facade of the Limoges town hall was adorned with blue at night.
Coming to the call of the Véli-Vélo association, participants deplored the “cruel lack” facilities for cyclists. “Even if cycle paths have emerged in Limoges, some remain impassable”deplore Richard and Jacques, without giving their last name.
The death of Jean-Marc Chatard, after that of a cyclist run over by an SUV driver on October 15 in Paris, has shed light on the sometimes conflicting coexistence between bicycles and cars.
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