He wanted to deliver his “part of the truth”. Mayor of Rennes from 1977 to 2008, Edmond Hervé has just published the book Le detail et l’horizon in which he recounts his 31 years in office with Ouest-France editions. “But these are not memories because I am not dead”, confides the socialist, who was also Minister of Health during the Mitterrand years. In this book of more than 900 pages, Edmond Hervé looks back in detail on the projects he carried out for three decades with his municipal team and recalls his memories as an elected official. The good and the bad as he tells it to 20 Minutes.
You ruled the city for five terms. What is your greatest pride?
That of having benefited for 31 years with my friends from the confidence of the population. I say with my friends because there is no mayor without a team. It is together that we built a project for the city. It has been a long term, but the time has passed very quickly. And no mandate has been identical, the context being different each time. In any case, we can be proud of having made our city evolve, which now combines social, economic and environmental success. And the people of Rennes are proud of their city today.
What in your eyes is vour best achievement?
Surely the rehabilitation of Cleunay. When I was elected mayor for the first time in 1977, the priority of the mandate was to open up this very popular district. My opponents even said it looked like a third world country. You should know that this district, which emerged from the ground in the mid-1950s, was built in a hurry. It welcomed thousands of people who came from camps after the Liberation or from neighborhoods that had been razed during the war, such as that of Bourg-l’Evêque. The neighborhood was very remote from the city and very closed in on itself. It was therefore necessary to rehabilitate and modernize it by adding new constructions and services. There was thus the establishment of a clinic then the Leclerc center. We participated in this revival of Cleunay and I see it as quite a symbol. I could also have told you about our pride in having created at least 1,000 subsidized housing units in the city center, with the Lucien-Rose city at the foot of Thabor as the most telling example. When we arrived at the town hall in 1977, 80% of social housing was on the outskirts, there were between 50 and 55% when we left.
Your greatest emotion?
The fire of the Parliament of Brittany certainly, on the night of February 4 to 5, 1994. During the day, there had been a demonstration of fishermen. Prime Minister Edouard Balladur was in Rennes that day. When I left the préfecture, I immediately realized the abnormality of the situation. There was a smell of gas, the streets were littered with debris. People were screaming, some were yelling at me from their windows. And in the night, the fire broke out. I immediately went there. The crowd gathered in the square to witness this sad spectacle. Throughout the night, we saw this indomitable fire which ravaged the building despite the courage of the firefighters. All of Brittany was in mourning after this disaster. But immediately, we decided to rebuild it as quickly as possible.
Your best meeting?
There have been many, with great statesmen in particular like François Mitterrand or Jacques Chirac. But I especially remember the visit of Salvador Allende’s wife in March 1981 in Rennes. On September 11, 1973, the day of Allende’s death, François Mitterrand was also in Rennes. I can still see him writing his press release on the table in a municipal office. At the time, we didn’t know if he had been killed, kidnapped or if he had committed suicide. The arrival of Allende’s widow was a very strong moment. She had notably inaugurated a fresco at Maurepas and a crowd of kids had thronged around her.
Your the crispest anecdote?
The city of Rennes is twinned with that of Rochester in the United States. During a reception at the Town Hall, the president of the twinning committee once gave me the key to a hotel room that had been given to her by a former GI. He had participated in the Liberation of Rennes on August 4, 1944 and a few days later, he had returned here. He had stayed in a hotel in the city center and left with the key. We will never know why this GI returned to Rennes a few days after the Liberation, we could also make a whole novel out of it. Several decades later, I therefore found myself in possession of this key that I kept on my desk for a long time. I told his story to every person I met. When I left the town hall, I finally entrusted this mysterious key to the Musée de Bretagne.
