Nice-Premium: André Bonny has just passed away. He has been your deputy since 1993, tell us about your partnership and your political meeting.
Rudy Salles: We joined the city council together on Jacques Médecin’s team in 1983. He was responsible for veterans, and I was in charge of neighborhoods. We each held on-the-ground responsibilities. We hit it off immediately because we had the same approach to politics: to serve our citizens. Then, there was a deputy mayor position open in the municipality. André was a candidate for this post but faced competition from another colleague. Given his exemplary commitment and dedication, I felt he deserved this position. Thus, I supported him in this internal campaign. He was elected by a majority of one vote. I was pleased for him to receive this recognition. In 1993, as I was up against Le Pen in the third district, I suggested that he run as my deputy. He agreed immediately. We embarked on an adventure that lasted three legislative terms, 14 years during which there was never any disagreement between us. He was not only an outstanding deputy but also a sincere friend. Our relationship was built on friendship, mutual respect, and loyalty.
NP: What adjectives would you use to describe André Bonny’s personality?
RS: Honest, loyal, faithful, hardworking, courageous, generous, optimistic— there are so many flattering qualities to define him that I’ll just leave it at that. His iron morale never let doubt set in. When there was a challenge, he did everything possible to meet it. He was a fighter in the noblest sense of the term.
NP: He was a former deputy of sports. What solutions had he advocated for the grand stadium and other sports files of the city of Nice? What mattered to him most?
RS: He had wished for Nice to acquire a new stadium on the occasion of the Soccer World Cup. Unfortunately, the mayor at the time, Honoré Bailet, did not follow through. It was a huge disappointment for him. Today, we had together envisioned the construction project of a new stadium at Charles Ehrmann. He was happy to participate in this deliberation. What particularly mattered to him was being able to listen to all the small Niçois clubs that do a remarkable job on the field and that are often forgotten. He was always present at sports events to show his support to the volunteers and both the young and not-so-young who love sports. I wouldn’t want to finish without mentioning his attachment to the boules players. A few days before his death, he still honored the clos de Pessicart and that of the Level Crossing, which had invited him. The boules players were somewhat his second family.
NP: He had been battling the illness for many months. Was that a way to forget about it?
RS: He had decided not to talk about it as if to refuse it. He hadn’t spoken to me about it; I respected this choice. But he knew, and so did I… Every morning, I called him and asked after his health. He had a very personal way of answering the phone. Some say hello; he said “present.” And when I asked how he was, he would answer, “I’m in great shape!” It’s a form of courage that I hadn’t yet seen. It’s very moving to think about it today because the physical and moral suffering he must have endured seeing his health decline must have been terrible.
NP: He was a well-liked politician in the local political world. The reactions must have been significant, right?
RS: The reactions are very significant. Everything in his behavior commands admiration. The reactions are proportionate to the exceptional character he embodied.
NP: Finally, he was friends with President Jacques Chirac. What was their connection?
RS: Djebel, Algeria united them. But above all, Jacques Chirac knew that André was the loyalist among loyalists. He had created the support committee for Jacques Chirac in the Alpes-Maritimes. He was a genuine Chiraquien. The President never failed to ask me how Dédé was doing. It was a friendship mixed with affection. I know that the President was very affected by André’s passing. He will be missed; he will be missed by me as he will be by all those who knew him and had come to love him.
