"An artist," "a discreet man," "above all, a human being"... Manu, the homeless man on the pedestrian street in Menton, has died.

With blue eyes and a shy smile framed by a graying beard, Manu was a familiar face in Menton. He was a regular on the pedestrian street, near the carousel, where he often sat begging. Appreciated by passersby, Manu was also respected by the volunteers and "buddies" of the Menton Red Cross.

"He was an artist ," recalls Khadra Guillot, head of the social center, who had known him for several years. "He drew a lot, he was eloquent and spoke easily. He could talk to everyone." When she talks about it, tears well up. "Manu was part of the family ," she confides, wiping her cheeks. "I lost a piece of him."

His lifeless body was found on a beach late in the afternoon of June 18. "The firefighters couldn't do anything," Khadra said with a sorrowful sigh. He was 53 years old.

A rather discreet "good guy"

"When I heard the news, it devastated me," confesses the woman who plays the mother, the sister, the rock of the homeless of Menton. By all accounts, Manu was a "good guy." A kind, humble man, who had the gift of smiling despite the hardships. "He had a very complicated life, " she says, without going into detail. "He wouldn't like us to talk about it. He preferred to remain discreet."

In recent days, her photo has circulated on social media to illustrate several tributes. Khadra Guillot is moved by it. "It wasn't her intention ," assures the manager of the premises located at 40 rue Partouneaux. "Some people don't want their families to find out they were homeless. The right to one's image should be respected, even in death."

His face will not illustrate the article, but will remain plastered on the wall of the Red Cross, among the souvenir photos, and in the hearts of those who knew him.

Bernard Laboureau is one of them. The Menton author and painter paid tribute to the artist who "wrote words of life" and "loved to draw." "I knew him for years. We exchanged ideas, as we met," he explains on social media. Manu is even said to have inspired the character in one of his novels.

“Behind every face on the street, there is a story”

Sébastien Uscher, from the Stand Up for the Planet association, also recalls their first meeting. "Five years ago, I brought him into a movie theater so he could warm up and listen, talk, and debate. It was a friend, Caroline, who had the impetus to open the evening for him," he rewinds on Facebook, explaining that they have since exchanged "a few words, glances, and silences."

In a poignant message, Sébastien Uscher highlights the "invisible" , "those we pass by without really seeing them, until the day we no longer pass by them, and we don't even know it" . "He was a homeless man, yes. But above all, he was human. A man with flaws, strengths, dreams perhaps, struggles surely. A man who stood tall, sometimes withdrawn, sometimes talkative, rarely if ever angry, but alive and almost apologetic for inhabiting this world" , he writes. Calling to remember him and others because "behind every face in the street, there is a story. And sometimes, a disappearance" .

Still not buried

"If only people had this way of looking at others - without pity or disgust - humanity would win," adds Khadra Guillot, clutching the sign her "friend" left her. A laminated white sheet of paper that reads: "My name is Manu. I'm not a ghost. But sometimes I feel like one. If you want to bring someone into existence today, I'm here. Thank you for your coin, your smile, or your attention."

Manu is no longer here, but his absence still haunts the Red Cross office. Since June 18, his body has been resting at the Pasteur Athanée. "We're waiting to find out if the family will take care of his funeral ," Khadra explains. "Since I've been here, this has happened twice out of eighteen." She pauses for a moment to erase her serious expression and her misty eyes. "If the family doesn't want to take care of it, we'll do it. We'll go with our friends to the Monti destitute square to give him a nice farewell party."