On December 23, 1983, Françoise Rudetzki was having dinner with her husband at the Grand Véfour, a Parisian restaurant in the Palais Royal, when a bomb exploded. Seriously injured in the legs, she has never ceased since then to help those affected by attacks to obtain recognition and financial assistance.

She died overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in Paris, at the age of 73, her family announced on Wednesday. “Until the end, she campaigned for the recognition and care of victims of attacks,” her daughter Deborah Rudetzki told AFP, contacted by telephone.

Received several times at the United Nations

She had created SOS Attentats, the first association for the defense of victims of acts of terrorism, in December 1985. She initiated the creation of the Guarantee Fund for victims of acts of terrorism (1986) and other offenses (1990 ). She was still a board member. In 1990, it obtained the status of civilian victims of war for all victims of terrorism and hostages and thus the status of ward of the nation. Received on several occasions at the UN, she has often been heard for the European and international rights of victims of terrorism.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo paid tribute to her: “With incredible courage and strength, she never ceased to carry the voice of the victims of terrorism. We owe him a lot. »

Françoise Rudetzki has left us. This is very sad news. With incredible courage and strength, she never ceased to carry the voice of the victims of terrorism. We owe him a lot. Thoughts to his family, loved ones, members of SOS Attentats. pic.twitter.com/fZXMN691Au— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) May 18, 2022

Court reporters had seen her countless times at hearings and in the corridors of the Paris courthouse, where she moved around with English canes, she who, after the attack, had suffered dozens of operations.

"Françoise Rudetzki has always wanted to fight for the dignity, for the recognition of the rights" of the victims and "she never lets go", declared President François Hollande while paying tribute to her in 2016 at the Elysée Palace, before decorating her of the National Order of Merit.

The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti greets with sadness the one who "made her wounds her greatest fight by devoting her life to the victims of terrorism".

It is with sadness that I learn of the disappearance of Françoise Rudetzki. She made her wounds her biggest battle by dedicating her life to the victims of terrorism. I remember his selflessness and his resilience. His voice will not die out.— Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) May 18, 2022

His funeral will take place in the strictest family privacy.