Bernard Pignerol, founder of SOS Racisme and leader of La France insoumise (LFI), died Sunday of cancer, announced the former presidential candidate of LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of whom he was a close collaborator.
State Councilor, founder and vice-president of the SOS Racisme movement from 1984 to 1993, Bernard Pignerol was a member from 1988 to 2002 of the Socialist Left, a current of the Socialist Party led by Mr. Mélenchon. He was also an international adviser to the mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë from 2007 to 2014.
“This morning, Bernard Pignerol, our comrade, died. Cancer killed him. Distress strikes us. He was a leader and an essential militant of the rebellious movement, of which he was one of the most brilliant and active. founders,” tweeted Mr. Mélenchon. “He was an essential companion and friend for me and for many of us”.
Bernard Pignerol had notably been seen alongside Jean-Luc Mélenchon during the eventful search at the headquarters of LFI in October 2018, which had earned him a fine from the Bobigny Criminal Court the following year.
An association he chaired, the Era of the People, provider of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s presidential campaign in 2017, was also indicted last year for “scam and attempted aggravated scam” and “false and use of forgery” as part of an investigation into the use of public funds during the campaign of the candidate LFI.
The ex-minister and ex-president of SOS Racisme Harlem Désir expressed, also on Twitter, his “tremendous sadness” at the disappearance of a “man of commitment, culture, at the heart of all the fights from the left”.
The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, classmate of Bernard Pignerol at the National School of Administration (ENA), said he was “very saddened”. “Our political positions set us against each other. Our old ties brought us together,” he tweeted.
05/22/2023 02:05:57 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP