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| He then asked to see the prime minister, and although it was Sunday, Mr. Balladur agreed to see him at once, and assured him that there would be no attempt to expel the new occupants ofrue du Dragon. They were then photographed shaking hands on the steps of the Hotel Matignon, the prime ministerial residence, and Mr. Balladur put an official car and chauffeur at his disposal. Later that evening two ministers appearing separately on television, expressed their sympathy for the squatters. The next day Jacques Chirac, the mayor of Paris and a declared candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, announced that he would see to that buildings which were not in use and which were empty would be put at the disposal of the homeless. But he had reckoned without the Abbe Pierre. With a rare violence, the Abbe accused Mr. Chirac, and his staff at the Hotel de Ville, of hypocrisy7), and of trying to make political capital out of other people’s suffering. He declared that such men were incapable of governing France. Here was not only a challenge to the conscience of individuals; it was also a challenge to politicians and to the state. They must do better. This was a typical appearance of the Abbe Pierre. He appeared regularly as an angry man, denouncing the authorities and appealing for help. He was aggressively independent. He returned all the decorations and honours that he had received, he refused to be enrolled in any political party, he made few references to the church or to religion. A Quiet Man For many years he was in the public eye, but he didn’t like the inherent fame that was associated with his role. For several years he dropped out of the public limelight8), spending time in semi- retreat. However, when he returned to the public limelight in the mid 1980s, speaking again on issues such as homelessness, his message again received widespread and popular support. It seemed many remembered his initial message back in the 1950s. Abbe Pierre also became a strong spokesperson against the nationalistic view of J. Marie Le Pen. Abbe Pierre disagreed that France’s ills could be pinned9) on immigrants. To the end of his life he supported the cause of immigrants especially in regard to housing. A Popular Man Despite his war time record of saving Jewish people from the Nazi’s and his ardent opposition to the far right in France, Abbe Pierre was dragged into controversy for his support of his long time friend Roger Garaudy. Roger had written a book claiming Israel had exaggerated the extent of the holocaust and had used it as an excuse for mistreating the Palestinians. However, despite this episode, his reputation was generally undiminished because of his sincere and fervent10) belief in the equality of men. In the last years of his life he was frequently voted France’s most popular man. He actually asked to stop being nominated to allow “someone from the younger generation”. His successor was Zinedine Zidane, the footballer and immigrant from North Africa. Abbe Pierre’s death united France in paying homage11) to a unique character who brought together many opposing factions12), in particular he was a representative of the Catholic Church who was able to appeal to even those who were militantly anti Catholic. He stood for the ideals of serving others and living up to the Christian philosophy of “doing unto13) others as you would have done to yourself.”  |
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