22 November, Serge Lemaire left us. Member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance française de ToulouseSerge was one of the founders of our association 41 years ago.

Right from the start of the schooling business, Serge Lemaire was involved in educational issues and sought to diversify his activities. This is how he introduced DELF exams at a time when very little was on offer in public schools in the early 1990s. It has to be said that Serge was well versed in educational issues. A history teacher, he was headmaster of a number of secondary schools in France. Now retired, he is in charge of the Stade Toulousain training centrethe city's iconic rugby club. He was the club's general manager for ten years before becoming chairman of the board. In these decision-making roles, he always carried a strong message about the complementary nature of sporting and intellectual training, aware that not all young players could become professionals in the sport and that even if they did, they would still have to find their place in society. His primary mission was to strike a balance, to help young people realise their ambitions while serving the team as a whole. As a historian in love with Stade Toulousain, Serge wrote the reference book in 2015, Stade Toulousain: an institution (published by Hugo Sport). In it, he recounts the origins of the club and the growing fervour for it among Toulousans.

A native of Toulouse by adoption, Serge grew up in the north-east of France and has become a great connoisseur of the area. So much so, that on many occasions, he offered Alliance Française students guided tours through the streets of the city, drawing their attention to the details of a façade, the courtyard of one of the many private mansions, or an anecdote about the restoration of the Basilique Saint-Sernin, a jewel of Romanesque art. He wasn't a French teacher, but he knew how to talk to people from all over the world who wanted to know more about the human history of our city. So it's hardly surprising that Serge was a member of theLanguedoc AcademySerge Lemaire was a man of great simplicity, a man who supported the preservation of Languedoc traditions in the scientific, literary, artistic and socio-economic fields, in the interests of our region. Serge Lemaire was a man with a simple approach. Extremely attentive to others, he loved to observe and never put himself forward. A man in the shadows but always present, someone you could count on, with both a clear memory and a mind focused on the present, he was a man of records, relishing moments of solitary writing and friendly sharing over a drink. He will remain an inspiration to us all.

Nathalie Spanghero-Gaillard,
Vice-President of the Alliance Française de Toulouse