The death of the former Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, this Thursday March 21 sparked a wave of emotions from political figures.
Frédéric Mitterrand died in Paris on March 21 at the age of 76. He was Minister of Culture and Communication from 2009 to 2012 in the government of François Fillon, then Prime Minister of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Frédéric Mitterrand has worked with all spheres of culture: literature, cinema, television, etc. Having become a figure in the cultural world, he received, upon the announcement of his death, a shower of tributes from politicians. On his account, President Emmanuel Macron praised the “thousand lives, all woven with a common thread: culture for everyone” of Mr. Mitterrand. “He also confided: “We will miss his legendary “Good evening!”
Jack Lang salutes a man who “served the arts with passion”
As indicated The world, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, paid tribute to a “man who loved everything that directly or indirectly touched on culture” and to a “man who had the insatiable thirst for learning and the constant project of doing” . Former president Nicolas Sarkozy remembers a “deeply cultivated and delicate man, a being apart, sensitive and endearing, an unclassifiable personality, so far from partisan life”. Rachida Dati, who knew Frédéric Mitterrand when she was also part of François Fillon’s government as Minister of Justice, recalled “the inimitable grain of his voice”. The current Minister of Culture remembered a man who “wore his melancholy like elegance”.
The various tenants of rue de Valois paid tribute to Frédéric Mitterrand, in particular Jack Lang, who greeted on his account a man who “throughout his life served the arts with passion, erudition and love (…). Our common loyalty to François Mitterrand united us deeply”. Frédéric Mitterrand was the nephew of the former president. Rima Abdul Malak, in post at Culture before Ms. Dati, recalled “the panache and melancholy. The lightness and torment” of the former minister.
Strong words from Rachida Dati
François Hollande also paid tribute to Mr. Mitterrand and underlined “his commitment to cinema and television”. The former minister’s passion for cinema was also recalled by Ms. Dati in a press release shared on his account , which looked back at the time when Mr. Mitterrand took over ten cinemas to create the Olympic cinemas. She recalled that “The quality of their programming had made him a leading figure in the exploitation of arthouse cinema in Paris.” Before adding: “The public rushed to the screenings of Bergman, Antonioni or Ozu, but also Hollywood melodramas or Egyptian musicals, such was this mad lover of the black screen that he had such a passion for eclecticism.”
In this press release, Rachida Dati indicated that she had had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Mitterrand shortly before his death. She said: “In recent weeks, we had spoken several times. He gave me the warmest welcome when I took up my duties at Rue de Valois. Our last conversation, this weekend, full of this enthusiasm for life that we knew him, gave nothing to the time which was speeding up for him.