An emblematic figure of Marseille disappeared on the night of Monday February 14 to Tuesday February 15. Michel Montana, emblematic executive of the communist newspaper La Marseillaise and founder of the famous Mondial de pétanque, died at the age of 92.
Michel Montana, the man of a thousand lives
Marseille loses one of its greatest representatives. Michel Montana is a multifaceted man who leaves behind him a most atypical career. He was a music hall singer, newspaper seller before taking over the commercial management of the daily La Marseillaise for several decades.
But his greatest feat of arms remains of course the creation fifty years ago of the biggest pétanque tournament in the world. Michel Montana was the voice and face of the Marseille pétanque player who brings together amateurs and professionals from all over the world every year. Today, the World Cup welcomes nearly 15,000 players from 30 different countries and attracts more than 160,000 spectators.
A shower of tributes from politicians and the economic world
His disappearance provoked a crowd of reaction among the Marseillais, starting with the mayor Benoît Payan: “ This man of a thousand and one lives marked the history of Marseille, as Marseille will have marked his own (…) This man of conviction, faithful to his humanist ideas, was a formidable ambassador for our city “, writes the city councilor in a press release. For her part, the President of the Department and of the Metropolis, Martine Vassal, salutes her commitment to the influence of the territory: “ He knew how to revolutionize the bowling world by giving the Marseillaise a global scale and by uniting beyond the generations. “. The President of the Region Renaud Muselier also goes there with his tribute on social networks: “ Michel Montana was Marseille, it was the South. From this man of a thousand lives, from resistance to ultimate recognition, I will forever keep our precious friendship. “, he says. The assistant to the culture of the City of Marseilles, the communist Jean-Marc Coppola underlines as for him ” his character, his interpersonal skills, have allowed gatherings of various personalities from the world of show biz, journalism, politics, economy, during memorable editions of the Mondial. He has thus made petanque shine on an international scale just as he accompanied the evolution and the opening of the newspaper La Marseillaise, this newspaper of social transformation. “. Another Communist, Senator Jérémy Bacchi also mourns the disappearance of« a man believed to be eternal».
Michel Montana was #Marseilleit was the #South ! From this man of a thousand lives, from the Resistance to ultimate recognition, I will forever keep our precious friendship.
The #RegionSud pays tribute to him that I invite you to find here ⬇️https://t.co/Ul4oJud8Xw pic.twitter.com/IsaCkQcnAR
— Renaud Muselier (@RenaudMuselier) February 15, 2022
The economic world, through the voice of the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jean-Luc Chauvin, also salutes the extraordinary career of Michel Montana: ” a modest and flamboyant man at the same time, a man with multiple lives, deeply rooted in Marseille, whose colors he carried throughout his life. Capable of mobilizing all the vital forces of our territory, he knew how to make Marseille and Provence shine by making the Mondial La Marseillaise à pétanque a leading sporting and international event, an event in his image, popular and festive.».
Useful links :
> Mondial à Pétanque: it’s going to be jammed on the planet ball…
> Mondial La Marseillaise à pétanque: all of Marseille is there!