Paris (AFP)
The former minister and former right-wing deputy Bernard Debré died at the age of 75, his brother Jean-Louis Debré told AFP, confirming information from Le Point which evokes a death due to cancer.
Great physician, Bernard Debré was a member of an important political family of the Fifth Republic: he is the son of Michel, who was the first Prime Minister of General de Gaulle, and the twin brother of Jean-Louis, also a former minister and ex -President UMP (now LR) of the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council.
"I am sad to learn of the death of my colleague Bernard Debré. He was a straight man who had no tongue in his pocket, a great doctor, a Gaullist. All my condolences to his relatives", reacted immediately, within his political family, the deputy of Vaucluse Julien Aubert.
"A free spirit, independent and deeply committed to serving others, both in his medical and political career," also greeted the mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi.
Bernard Debré was from 1986 deputy for Indre-et-Loire, a department of which he was general counsel (RPR, now UMP then LR) from 1992 to 1994.
He was also Minister of Cooperation in the government of Edouard Balladur (1994-1995) and Mayor of Amboise from 1992 to 2001 and Member of Parliament for Paris.
Bernard Debré was also a great name in medicine: surgeon, university professor, he was head of the urology service at Cochin Hospital where President François Mitterrand was treated in particular.
He is the author of numerous works, in particular of reflection on medical ethics: "La France sick de sa santé" (1983);
"The Thief of Life, the Battle of AIDS" (1989);
"Warning to patients, doctors and elected officials" (2002);
"We have loved you so much. Euthanasia, the impossible law" (2004).
Knight of the Legion of Honor, he was married and father of four children.
© 2020 AFP