The disappearance of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Friday April 9, did not only saddened the elite. She also reactivated a powerful memory in a former reporter from the Journal of the Center, Guy Pommeau.
“Prince Philip, then president of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) came to visit Le Bec d’Allier one day in the fall of 1988”, recalls our ex-colleague, then head of the reporting service of your favorite daily newspaper.
On October 14, 1988, the Prince’s visit took on an environmental militant character. The Loire development establishment (Epala) then planned to build three flood suppressor dams and water suppliers for irrigators at Serre-de-la-Fare on the Loire, Chambonchard on the Cher and at Veurdre on the Allier.
“Long live the wild Loire! “
His press conference in Cuffy (Cher) was that of an informed and committed manager: “The ambitious plans to develop the Loire Valley have attracted a lot of attention, outside France. And have caused, I must say, some concern. […] We would like to see a reasonable compromise between human interests and maintaining the conditions that allow systems and species in the natural environment to survive. […] It is worth thinking about to ensure that future generations do not have to bear the consequences of hasty decisions and the cost of unnecessary mistakes. “
Like a good Briton, he made an alloy of his sense of humor and that of the right phrase: “To parody General de Gaulle and his” Vive le Québec libre ?! “, I will say: long live the wild Loire ?! The expression caught on. The defenders of nature joined in the battle. In the mid-1990s, the dam projects were abandoned. The Loire and the Allier have said to him ever since: “Thank you, my prince. “
He drank three beers during our interview. A big body like his, it had to be hydrated ?!
–
The Duke of Edinburgh’s attitude and availability during lunch at the Renaissance Inn in Marzy (during which the mayor of Marzy, Mr. Barbier, gave him a watercolor of the Loire, photo opposite) were also those of a simple man and not in search of bowings. Guy Pommeau, journalist but also emeritus fisherman at the time, remembers a long conversation he had with Prince Philip: “We talked as much about the rabbit as the beaver, without forgetting of course the trout and the salmon. I still have three beers during our interview. A big body like his, it had to be hydrated ?! “
There is no good company that never leaves “When the conversation was over, I offered him a small box of four salmon flies, from the collection of Jacky Benoit, the illustrious professional fisherman from the Loire region of Nivernais. He thanked me by specifying: “I am more practicing trout fishing. I will give them to my son Charles, great fisherman of Atlantic salmon.” “
Queen Elizabeth lost a devoted husband on Friday. The wild Loire and its tributary the Allier, meanwhile, have lost a protective friend.
Jean-Christophe Henriet
– .
:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/B4JQ7ZSME5AR7LCC5BFDAKEFPU.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
