Oldest Frenchman dies at 109

Philibert Parnasse, the oldest Frenchman alive until today, has died at his home in Guadeloupe at the age of 109.

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“I am really moved and sad. Right up until his last breath Philibert Parnasse had a lively spirit, and an outstandingly accurate memory. He was a real force of nature," said the president of the regional council of Guadeloupe, Victorin Lurel.

Born on the 6 May 1901 in Baillif, a rural commune to the south of Guadeloupe, Philibert Parnasse lived in a small family building. Paralysed since 2001 soon after the death of his wife he was confined to his bed.

He became the oldest Frenchman after the death on New Year’s Eve last year of Félix Maximilien Rostaing, who celebrated his 109th birthday in a retirement home in Capbreton, where he’d lived for five years.

The oldest woman in France is 113 year-old Eurénie Blanchard.