Death of Michel Destot, former socialist mayor of Grenoble for nearly twenty years

The socialist Michel Destot, who was mayor of Grenoble for 19 years and deputy for Isère for almost 30 years, died on Saturday at the age of 80, announced the municipality which paid tribute to a “figure in the history” of the city.

Elected mayor in 1995 after the legal setbacks of Alain Carignon, he served three terms until 2014, while being deputy for the department's third constituency from 1988 to 2017, and general councilor of Isère from 1985 to 1995.

Born on September 2, 1946 in Malo-les-Bains (North), an engineer by training, he became close to the second left embodied by Michel Rocard in the 1970s and joined the Grenoble municipal council, before taking the reins of the city two decades later.

“A Grenoble resident that we could meet on the hiking trails”

“Michel Destot brought a vision of the development of Grenoble combining innovation, research, economy, transport and urban planning. During his three terms as mayor, he accompanied and contributed to shaping the city's developments, leaving a lasting mark on its history,” welcomed the municipality.

“I also remember a simpler image of him: that of a Grenoble resident that we could come across on the hiking trails,” added the current left-wing mayor Laurence Ruffin.

François Hollande praised on X “a man who sought to unite around great causes”, whose socialism “tolerated neither sectarianism nor easiness”. “As a deputy for 30 years, he defended the need for an industrial policy and promoted the role of science,” recalled the former President of the Republic, now deputy for Corrèze.