The Elysée mourned Wednesday the death of Lucile Randon, a nun known as Sister André, who was an «emblem of continuity and resistance» by living through two world wars and witnessing the mandate of 18 French presidents.
Randon, the world’s longest-lived woman, witnessed «the arrival of electricity in her school» as well as the industrial transformation of the early 20th century, with the emergence of automobiles and aviation.
«She, who at 118 still cultivated two of her most everyday pleasures, a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate, kept alive the French tradition of longevity, often joking about beating the record in front of Jeanne Calment,» the Elysée recalled in an emotional statement.
Calment, who was born in Arles, France, and died in 1997 when she was 122 years and 164 days old, still retains the honor of being the person who has lived the longest in history according to the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.
André, who died the day before, was born in the south of France in 1904, and was included in April 2022 in the list of oldest living persons. According to Guinness World Records, she was the second oldest French and European person ever recorded.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
