He succeeds André Ludwig. Maurice Le Coutour, at the age of 109, became the new male dean of the French after the death on January 7 of his predecessor, who was 111 years old.
Today resident of a nursing home in Barfleur (Manche), Maurice Le Coutour is in great shape, says France 3 Normandie. He was born on 12 May 1914 in Gouberville, already in the Manche department, and has never left his native region. Until 2021, he was still living in his home town and still driving, at the age of 107!
"I'm not even scared to be a dean"
"I'm healthy, I don't have pain anywhere, no pain. I even read the newspaper without glasses, "he confided to our colleagues of France 3 Normandie in the spring, on the occasion of his birthday. Already the oldest man in Normandy, he is now the oldest man in an entire country. A new honor that does not impress him that much: "It does not even scare me to be a dean, you need one!" he told Ouest-France.
After fighting in the Second World War in Dunkirk (North), Maurice Le Coutour then returned to his native Normandy to open a small general food shop, before becoming a clerk, then a school driver until his retirement at the age of 65.
However, Maurice was not yet the oldest Frenchman: Marie-Rose Tessier, a 113-year-old woman born in 1910, took the title from him and is still for the time being the oldest French man or woman combined. To become the oldest French man in history, there is also a bit of a way to go in Mauritius, as Jules Théobald, the current record holder, died in 2021 at the age of 112 years and 171 days.