“Joy is immediately possible”

You publish The day I reappected to walk.

Why have you been delivered so intimately?

I am a fairly modest person. But while I had never fallen ill in my life, I gradually lost the use of my members in 2020, to the point of not being able to move. We discovered that I suffered from chronic polyradiculonéverite. In the hospital, I met a lot of patients who were lowering my arms. I wanted to tell them: be fighters!

What does this test reveal to you?

My ability to positive. I draw it from the support of my loved ones, including my wife, Sylviane, but also by remembering the good times of my career. Despite heavy treatments, I never stayed in my house. I certainly hang out with the consequences that have been annoying me, but for a year, I have been moving away, I have been driving my car again. And I gradually resume the bike.

A gene that you are happy to have inherited?

My father’s fighting spirit. Mayor of the Picard d’Eaucourt-sur-Somme village for twenty-four years, he had to manage complicated situations. In 1977, I succeeded him with the same state of mind. The bicycle virus is also him!

A good plan to reconnect to nature?

Take out in my garden to admire the trees, listen to the chirk of birds and the wind in the leaves … From my illness, I have a new look at this beauty that sponsors me.

Your last cultural crush?

The book The opportunity to live, by André Comte-Sponville. The philosopher defines happiness there as every moment when joy seems immediately possible. This corresponds well to my conception of existence.

A solidarity initiative for which you mobilize?

The Mécénat Cardiac Surgery, which finances the operation of the heart of children who cannot benefit from adequate care. But also the Telethon, which supports the search for treatments against orphans.

For you, Jesus, it’s … Whoever brings another vision of existence. It gives us the trust necessary to meet challenges