Louis Besson transformed the city of Barby where he was mayor from 1965 to 1989. His four terms corresponded to “a period of great development” for the municipality, located at the foot of the Bauges massif, recalls Christophe Pierreton, mayor since 2020, for whom the passing of Louis Besson represents “a shock.”
During the New Year’s wishes ceremony, a second film of the conference “Barby over time” was shown, paying tribute to Louis Besson and his work. “In 1968, he had three houses moved on caterpillar tracks, which freed up land to build the apartment buildings. People from all over the region came to see it! That was the beginning of the construction of the heart of Barby with new housing, Clos Gaillard, the Épinettes, the Barby College, and the 13th Battalion of Alpine Hunters. The population went from 300 inhabitants to 3000. The municipality went from a small village to a small town, with all the services to welcome populations. He was a great politician who started his career in Barby,” explains Christophe Pierreton, noting that the Besson family has been established in the municipality for several hundred years.
“Louis Besson was a visionary: under his leadership, Barby was one of the first municipalities to have what was then called a retirement home (today Independent Living Facilities for the Elderly) while no one else fought to have one. Barby has always been a welcoming municipality, and I think Louis Besson had a lot to do with that. He had a long-term vision for the harmonious development of the municipality,” assures the current mayor, recalling a memorable anecdote: “The Barby Town Hall was built in 1989. Louis Besson initiated the construction, but when it was finished, he was no longer mayor. When I was elected, I exchanged offices with Louis Besson at the town hall. It was the first time he entered the office!”
