The flags were at half mast in Calais, Saturday, June 11, in tribute to Jean-Jacques Barthe, communist deputy and mayor of the city for three decades, died Friday after leaving politics in 2000.
The current mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, a right-wing elected official who conquered the city from the Communists in 2008, praised on Facebook a “man of conviction very attached to our city”, adding: “His lofty view, his dedication deserve our respect “. She further clarified:
“Although I do not share his political commitments, I can attest to the constancy of his action and his willingness to serve our good city and its people with honesty and loyalty. »
“An indelible imprint in Calais”
Jean-Jacques Barthe, teacher elected mayor of Calais continuously from 1971 to 2000, and deputy from 1978 to 1988, died Friday in Calais at the age of 85, announced the mayor and the local section of the French Communist Party.
The Communist Party of Calaisis, emphasizing that it had managed the city with “realism and vision for the future”, recalled its “humility, its natural authority”, its “sense of justice (…) and of the general interest “.
MP for Pas-de-Calais Pierre-Henri Dumont (Les Républicains) hailed a “sincere man” who left “an indelible mark in Calais”.