Charles Ehrmann shared his life between two great passions: teaching and political action. As a teacher at Masséna High School for nearly forty years, he educated generations of people from Nice, guided them to maturity, and shaped them into citizens as well as responsible individuals. He has just passed away, a few weeks short of his hundredth birthday.
Witness to a century of the history of France and Nice, he lived through terrible episodes, like the group of his students who were arrested and then murdered by the occupiers in June 1944 at Saint-Julien-du-Verdon.
Hailing from a family of Alsatians that chose France in 1871, inconsolable over the death of a beloved father during World War I, Charles Ehrmann carried the tragedies of the last two centuries of France in his memory.
A participant in political life, municipal councilor of Nice and deputy mayor (1965-1983), general councilor of Alpes-Maritimes (1973-2001), deputy of the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes (1976-1981, then 1986-2002), he left his mark on the entire city by overseeing numerous sports facilities, of which I will cite only the most important: the Var plain sports complex, named after him in 1983, and the Jean-Bouin sports complex.
All Nice athletes owe him gratitude for laying the groundwork for Nice’s ascent to a prominent sporting city and for knowing how to develop municipal action over two decades in this field so useful to social life, health, and the learning of society and its rules, that is, of citizenship.
Reaction from Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of Nice Côte d’Azur,
“Today I wish to express my emotions and remind everyone of what Nice owes to this great humanist, ward of the Nation, deeply European, and passionate defender of the cause of sport. On behalf of the people of Nice, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Reaction from Eric Ciotti, President of the General Council of A-M:
“A page of Nice’s history has just turned with the death of Charles Ehrmann, and I want to bow with emotion to the memory of this great politician, this man of heart, whom the people of Nice familiarly and affectionately called Charly. My thoughts go out to his wife, Michèle, his children, and grandchildren, to whom I offer my affection.”
Reaction from Patrick Allemand, First Vice-President of the PACA Region:
“It is with sadness that I learned of the death of Charles Ehrmann. He was a prominent figure in the political life of Nice and a deputy in sports who left his mark, beyond just the stadium that bears his name. He will be remembered as a friend of the bowlers. I was his adversary in legislative elections twice, and a mutual respect developed between us, even though he was formidable. He understood that to be re-elected, time spent on the ground was more important than the number of questions posed in the National Assembly.”
