Paris (AFP)
Former President François Hollande, bereaved by the death of his father in a Parisian nursing home, told AFP on Tuesday of its support for the staff of these establishments on the front line of the fight against the coronavirus.
Mr. Hollande's father had been in an Ehpad for a year. He died Saturday at the age of 96 "unrelated to the Covid-19," he said.
"I want to pay tribute to all the staff of Ehpad who fight against the virus, but also accompany the elderly in this difficult and frightening period, and accompany others towards the end of their life," said l 'former head of state in a telephone interview, adding that he supported "all those who carry out essential tasks and show that public service is a guarantee for all French people".
"It is more painful for many French people to lose a loved one in this period when it is impossible to go and visit them", testified François Hollande: "Not being able to see them before their departure is a cruel situation for a lot of us. I’ve gotten into it too, we had conversations on the phone with my dad, but I couldn’t visit him and I had to wait for him to come out. 'Ehpad to see him in a burial chamber the next day ".
In accordance with the recommendations, all of the residents of this nursing home were confined individually to their rooms, an isolation which could, believes the former president, "psychologically affect" his father Georges, a former doctor.
While the funeral of Mr. Hollande's father is organized on Tuesday, the former head of state still testifies that it is "very difficult to bury his dead in this period. There are many deaths, the procedures are long ".
"National unity is the condition for our society to be able to stand in this phase which concerns us all as human beings", he concluded, referring to the period of the 2015 attacks, which 'he had lived at the helm of the state.
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