[FR] The big bang of 9 May

Paul Collowald was Le Monde’s first correspondent covering the young European institutions in Strasbourg. He then served as spokesperson for the French Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, R. Marjolin and R. Barre, before joining Pierre Pflimlin, then President of the European Parliament. He subsequently chaired the Robert Schuman Association while also becoming involved in the European Parliament’s ‘Fourth World’ intergroup on extreme poverty. He remains close to Jacques Delors.

An Alsatian and a man of borders, Paul Collowald remains one of the last active witnesses, at 97 years of age, and a participant in that unique historical moment when a single generation of Europeans witnessed the material and spiritual suicide of Europe before choosing to live and rebuild. A biography, Paul Collowald, pionnier de l’Europe à Unir (Paul Collowald, pioneer of a united Europe), has been written about him by Sabine Menu, professor at the University of Strasbourg.