Francine Vormese Matarasso

in Léo Matarasso, Seminario del 6 dicembre 2008, Cedetim, Parigi

I would like to express our gratitude for this tribute to Léo, for having come here, for having travelled to be with him in his memory. I discovered this tribute two days ago on the internet. I couldn’t miss it.
I am the companion of Pierre Matarasso, his nephew. I have family memories of dinners with Léo who used to tell us his stories, his adventures, the things of Algeria. We had the same desire to have him tell us.
There were also Saturday lunches attended by her daughter Agnes, her nephew Piero and me. Sometimes Vera would join us.
He would exchange with Piero the news of the week, comment on what was happening in the world of politics, culture… But I was very intimidated by Léo, I was still a student. I listened to him a lot. Afterwards, Piero and I would go to his little office, where he would tell us more about his work and analyse it.
Léo knew his influence, his personal role in history. But when it was suggested to him to speak about himself, he was extremely modest.
And while he enjoyed the accolades, he hated the conceited. He passed on to the young lawyers who worked with him the fairness that could be achieved: to take on the cases of the world’s most affluent so that they could also defend those who had causes to defend and found themselves in need. If anything can be said about Léo, it is that he never sought to enrich himself and that his probity still makes him a figure to be remembered at the “Palais”.
At the home of his brother and sister-in-law Gisèle (who took care of him in his last years), there were very cheerful family dinners. The world, its dramas and comicalities, the memories of Salonika where Léo and Jacques had lived their childhood. The evocation of the Resistance, as well as the last film, brought the family together.
His nephew Piero is now deputy scientific director at the CNRS for sustainable development. He will be very happy to meet you one day. In his reasoning, his arguments, his rigour, his elegance and his pleasant smile you will find something of Léo.
Thank you.

in:

<strong>Léo Matarasso,
Seminario del 6 dicembre 2008, Cedetim, Parigi
Milano, maggio 2009</strong>