one year after the death of Gérard Collomb, his daughter comes out of silence

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A year ago, Lyon lost one of its emblematic mayors. Gérard Collomb, former mayor, president of the metropolis and former Minister of the Interior, died of stomach cancer at the age of 76. A few days later, the people of Lyon discovered the emotion of his wife and children during the public funeral on the square in front of Saint-Jean Cathedral.

A year after the disappearance of her father, Clémence Collomb, aged 20 and a student, spoke for the first time since the death of Gérard Collomb. She testified Monday November 25, 2024 on the set of BFM Lyon. This is the first public expression of this type from the Collomb family since last winter.

“He always gave everything for Lyon”

On the set, the young woman recalled that her father “always gave everything for Lyon” through his mandates. “He devoted his life to public affairs, to politics. He devoted 40 years of his life to it, he left his health there. But it is part of the history of Lyon and of France,” she says.

After her defeat in the 2020 municipal elections, her daughter looks back on this painful period. “He insisted on remaining in opposition for Lyon and for the residents. He showed a lot of resilience. It was the choice of the Lyonnais. That’s what he told us.”

“Political life has impacted our family life”

“From 2018, I saw him very sad. It was difficult to see him like that. Political life has impacted our family life […] It was hard for us. The times we spent with him as a family were no longer the same,” continues Clémence Collomb.

He was sad. He was betrayed when he had to leave his city of Lyon and his family to become Minister of the Interior. He knew that no one would follow him to Paris. But it was a responsibility for himself if it's not necessarily what he wanted to do at first. He kind of had to go.

“No longer himself” from the Ministry of the Interior

When Emmanuel Macron appointed his father Minister of the Interior, he “was no longer himself”, according to his daughter.

“Something has definitely changed. When he returned, he campaigned again for the 2020 elections and lost the mayorship of Lyon. It was another difficult stage in his life. It took him a while,” she recalls.

Asked about possible political ambitions, Clémence Collomb rather responded in the negative, recalling that her father's ambitions had a very significant impact on her childhood and family life.

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