Paris (AFP)
The former mayor of Le Havre Antoine Rufenacht, figure of the Chiraquian right and close to Edouard Philippe, died Saturday morning at the age of 81, Emmanuel Macron greeting "a man of conviction".
"Tu duca, tu signore, e tu maestro", paid tribute to the former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a tweet relayed by the President of the Republic.
"Tribute to Antoine Rufenacht, man of convictions, who transformed his city like no other and passed the torch on to @EPhilippe_LH. Friendly thoughts for the latter who loses a loved one and a master, as for his family, the Havreises and the Havres", underlined Mr. Macron.
During the party's re-entry university at Port-Marly (Yvelines), the President of the Republicans Christian Jacob publicly shared with the activists "sad news that touches us".
"Many of us have known him and know what a great mayor of Le Havre he was," added Mr. Jacob, describing Antoine Rufenacht as "a great man", "of conviction".
The mayor of Troyes François Baroin, star guest of the return of the Republicans, greeted an "extraordinary mayor" who "released the Communists from their madness of Marxist projects in Le Havre", paying tribute to his "intelligence", his "dignity" , his "malice".
"He died this morning. He is my political father. Le Havre is losing a great man," said Seine-Maritime deputy Agnès Firmin Le Bodo to AFP.
Former minister of Raymond Barre (1976-1978), former deputy for Seine-Maritime (1975-76, 1978-81 and 1986-95), Antoine Rufenacht had succeeded in 1995 in winning the town hall of Le Havre which was a stronghold of the PCF .
In 2010, he resigned, leaving the place to a certain Edouard Philippe.
"He could be my son," Rufenacht said in May 2017 of the ex-prime minister.
He had, however, "advised against" joining Matignon and Emmanuel Macron, he who did not believe "at all in the erasure of right and left".
The Modem Mayor of Pau François Bayrou, appointed this week High Commissioner for Planning, spoke of a "rare man", a "fighter" who "gave in neither to mediocrity nor to facilities".
The president (Libres!) Of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, for her part, confided her "great pain" and praised her "elegance, loyalty and convictions".
Antoine Rufenacht, representative of the Protestant Le Havre bourgeoisie, was regional councilor (RPR then UMP) of Haute-Normandie from 1986 to 2005. He chaired the regional council from 1992 to 1998 after beating Laurent Fabius.
Born May 11, 1939 in Le Havre, graduated from the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Paris, was elected deputy (UDR) of Seine-Maritime in 1975. He gave up his mandate in 1976 to enter the government, of which he will then be 37 years old, the youngest.
He was Secretary of State to Prime Minister Raymond Barre (1976-77) then to the Minister of Industry (1977-78).
In 1988, he regained his seat as deputy, lost in 1981. Reelected in 1993, he resigned two years later because of multiple mandates, when he was elected mayor of Le Havre.
After having resigned from the town hall of Le Havre, Antoine Rufenacht, who was also close to Nicolas Sarkozy, is involved in the UMP.
In January 2017, he resigned from the presidency of the departmental federation of Republicans, angry at not having been consulted for legislative candidacies.
Knight of the Legion of Honor, married and father of three children, Antoine Rufenacht has long chaired the Armor company, a family business.
© 2020 AFP