Paulette Guinchard, former Secretary of State for the Elderly, at the initiative of the Personalized Autonomy Allowance (APA), died at the age of 71 after having resorted to assisted suicide, AFP has learned Thursday March 4 from corroborating sources.
According to France 3 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Paulette Guinchard, who was ill, died in Switzerland.
Read also: German justice authorizes assisted suicide
“
Paulette Guinchard has spent her life improving that of our alumni, and it is the strength of her commitment that has enabled the creation of the Personalized Autonomy Allowance.
His humanity and his generosity must continue to guide us
, ”tweeted former socialist president François Hollande.
Martine Aubry, whom she worked with at the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity, remembered a “
wonderful woman of commitment who embodied the values of generosity and humanity
”.
"
A great lady of French politics, a woman of the left is gone,
" said the mayor of Lille in a statement.
Tributes from elected officials PS, EELV and LREM from Franche-Comté poured in on Thursday to applaud his work in favor of the elderly.
Secretary of State under the government of Lionel Jospin
Former member (PS) of Doubs, Paulette Guinchard is at the origin of the 2001 law on the APA which allows to provide personalized assistance to dependent elderly people.
She then became Secretary of State for the Elderly under the government of Lionel Jospin.
Daughter of farmers from Doubs, psychiatric nurse, Paulette Guinchard was for a long time municipal councilor of Besançon and regional councilor of Franche-Comté.
The city of Besançon "
is in mourning today
", declared the environmentalist mayor Anne Vignot.
The flags will be half mast on the day of his funeral and a minute of silence will be observed on Friday.
"
The aging of our loved ones, ours, Paulette Guinchard, pushed us to look at this reality on which our society had turned a blind eye for too long
," observed the elected representative from Besançon.
An emotion shared by the actors of the social sector.
The National Interfederal Union of private non-profit health and social works and organizations and the Association for disabled adults and young people have thus welcomed the commitment of this “
great figure in social and medico-social action
”.
