Claude Bonfils, man of letters and former president of the CCI of Sète, has died

Claude Bonfils, un homme apprécié. – Archive V. A.

Figure de Sète, homme de lettres, considéré comme l’un des grands présidents de la CCI locale au siècle dernier, il s’est éteint mercredi 7 février à l’âge de 98 ans.
 

Personality of the economic world, descendant of a large Sète family of wine merchants, Claude Bonfils died on Wednesday February 7. Aged 98, he chaired the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sète-Frontignan between 1974 and 1985. "He will have left the mark of an immense president, underlines Marc Chevallier, president of the port of Sète from 2010 to 2017 and close to Claude Bonfils. We owe him the extension of the port, and the development of dock 2. He contributed enormously to its development in the 1980s. He was very attached to it."

During his presidential term, Claude Bonfils also participated in the establishment, with his director Gérard Sauvaire, of the first computerized auction in Europe. "At the time, we had the most modern auction on the continent", remembers Jean-Claude Dugrip, another jack-of-all-trades resident, who will remember a man & quot;erudite, cultured" and an "endearing personality, great kindness and great finesse". "It’it was under his presidency that the port began to extend its reach towards the East and its transformation from a large port in Pinardier to the multi-purpose port that we know today", completes the mayor François Commeinhes.

Close to Agnès Varda and the Soulages couple

If Claude Bonfils was also sporty, practicing sailing and rowing until an advanced age (he had notably sailed in Scandinavian countries), he was also known for being a man of letters. A travel writer with sea legs and a strong pen. Author of several works all linked to the history of the city, many will remember As in the best days, a summer under the occupation (175 pages, 24 € , published by Équinoxe), released in 2015 and for which he gave an interview to Midi Libre. Retracing his personal history, when the Kriegsmarine prohibited access to the sea, forcing a group of college friends to play adventurers aboard the Charlot on the Etang de Thau…

Claude Bonfils had thus shared the benches of the Paul-Valéry college with Roger Thérond. "He was one of the people to whom Paul Valéry had awarded diplomas", recalls Marc Chevallier. His life had also led him to become a great friend of Agnès Varda, to the point that she became a witness to his marriage.

In addition, Pierre Soulages and his wife Colette were very close to Claude Bonfils and his wife. "I would like to pay tribute to his entrepreneurial spirit, his discreet personality and his writing talents", underlines François Commeinhes. Midi Libre sends its most sincere condolences to his family, his children, grandchildren and all his loved ones.