François de Canson: 'If I accept the Légion d’honneur, it is because it is collective'

It was in a Yann Piat hall filled with history and emotion that François de Canson, vice-president of the Région and president of the Comité Régional de Tourisme, received the insignia of Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur on April 30. In front of an audience of elected officials, colleagues, friends, and family, the official delivered an introspective speech, refusing to see this distinction as personal recognition, but rather as that of the 'legion' surrounding him. 'Nothing of what I have achieved was done alone.

Nothing. And if there is recognition tonight, it is first and foremost yours,' he told the assembly.

FAMILY HERITAGE He placed his commitment under the sign of heritage, dedicating this recognition to two guardian figures. First, his maternal grandfather, Emmanuel Vitria, the longest-living heart transplant recipient, who was decorated himself forty-four years ago. 'A man who lived twenty years with another person's heart in the hollow of his chest.

Twenty years during which every heartbeat was, in a way, a reminder: that life is a loan, and that it obligates us,' he shared. The other figure is that of his father, Philippe de Canson, mayor of La Londe-les-Maures for twenty-four years: 'I grew up on the shoulders of a giant. A giant who had advised me never to enter politics...

I believe that, there again, I did not listen to him. But perhaps he transmitted to me, without saying it, the essential: the sense of duty, and the weight of responsibility.'

The elected official also had strong words for his three sons, acknowledging the sacrifices imposed by his public life. The choice of the Yann Piat hall for this ceremony was not random. François de Canson was keen to emphasize its symbolic significance, far from the pomp usually associated with this type of event: 'It carries a memory.

Because it is loaded with history, struggles, victories, and dramas.' He thus evoked the political successes that took place there, but also the tragedy that marked it forever: 'Here, there was also the contemplation of a standing people, gathered in dignity and pain, to say goodbye to a woman, a deputy of the Republic, cut down by violence for what she embodied,' referring to the assassination of deputy Yann Piat. For him, this place 'obliges us not to cheat.'

INTIMATE REQUIREMENT The mayor delivered a deep reflection on the meaning of honor, far from being a simple symbol. He defined it as 'an intimate requirement,' 'fidelity to one's word, even when it becomes heavy to carry.' He went on to describe it as 'this invisible line that we draw within ourselves, once and for all, and that we do not cross, not under the gaze of others, but precisely in the solitude of decisions.'

Echoing a painful memory, he recalled his refusal of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2014, after the deadly floods that had plunged his municipality into mourning. 'Today, if I accept the Légion d'honneur, it is precisely because I know it does not belong to me. It is collective,' he insisted.

François de Canson concluded his speech with a vibrant tribute to Renaud Muselier, president of the Région Sud, who presented him with the award. He described their relationship as a 'brotherhood of commitment' and praised his ability to pass on responsibilities. 'In public life, passing the torch is often mentioned, rarely assumed, almost never embodied.

Passing it on is not giving up a seat. It is accepting that the future does not belong to us, and yet we must prepare for it,' he analyzed, citing the presidency of the Comité Régional de Tourisme that Renaud Muselier entrusted to him. Affirming that this decoration was not an end but 'a beginning,' he concluded on a note for the future: 'Renaud, I still want a thousand adventures with you.'

A promise of renewed commitment to the territory.