Death of Jacques Delors: The French left loses one of its great figures

He was one of the last great figures of the 20th century left. Jacques Delors died this Wednesday, December 27, in the morning in his Parisian home “in his sleep.” This was announced at the end of the day by his daughter, the socialist mayor of Lille (North) and former minister Martine Aubry.

At the same time, Emmanuel Macron published a message on X with a tribute: “Statesman of French destiny. The inexhaustible master of our Europe. Fighter for human justice. Jacques Delors was all of this. His commitment, his ideals and his righteousness will always inspire us. “I bow to his work and his memory and share the pain of his loved ones,” the president of the republic wrote.

“I am filled with emotion and admiration”

“The disappearance of Jacques Delors will evoke strong emotions throughout Europe, since he contributed to its formation,” said his predecessor Francois Hollande. It brings back to life an era during which a generation tirelessly championed an ideal and ensured its translation into action and progress. She leaves everyone who accompanied her, in a sense, orphans. »

Praise flourished primarily among the left, his political family. “I am full of emotion and admiration,” Jean-Yves Le Drian, who “knew him very well,” confesses to Le Parisien newspaper. “This is an exceptional life path during which he was able to embody modern social democracy, a Europe that brings progress. This will remain an important policy reference,” adds the former foreign minister.

“A giant has just left us,” wrote Socialist boss Olivier Faure on X. Child of the century, he experienced the worst and sought to prevent misfortune by building a lasting peace (…). He left us a huge legacy. »

“He would be an excellent president of the republic”

For Ségolène Royal, who ran for the presidency in the 1990s, Jacques Delors “was first and foremost a model.” “He is the father of Europe and the euro, he is a man of great importance. We loved him very much,” former minister Francois Hollande admitted to Le Parisien. This is a form of politics that has disappeared: the morality of action. He rejected everything that was conflict, calculation. He would be an excellent president of the republic. »

She recalls her “huge disappointment” when she did not see this mentor enter the race for the Elysee Palace. “I think he was asking himself that question until the last second,” she whispers.

“A modest man,” he “didn’t frequent the side streets of Solferino very often,” recalls Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, former head of PS. “He was a man of great intellectual and moral rigor, a convinced European,” he continues. Even the former socialist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who broke with the Rose Party fifteen years ago, hailed “a socialist of a generation who had an ideal.” No matter how far we are, I salute the activist and man of action who acted for the common good.”

“Jacques Delors was a visionary who made our Europe stronger. His life’s work is a united, dynamic and prosperous European Union,” added Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. At the age of 98, this passionate European died on the same day as Wolfgang Schäuble, the former German minister who worked on negotiations for German reunification.