Charles Cova

Charles Cova was born on 9 December 1931 in Bourg-en-Bresse, in the Ain department of eastern France. He made his first career in the French Navy, the Marine nationale, rising to the rank of capitaine de vaisseau, equivalent to a navy captain. He later held the rank on an honorary basis, and his naval background was remembered in Chelles long after he entered politics.

A member of the Rally for the Republic (RPR), Cova was elected to the general council of Seine-et-Marne for the canton of Chelles on 22 March 1982. In March 1983 he was elected mayor of Chelles, and he was re-elected in 1989. From 1988 to 1994 he was also a vice-president of the general council. He left the mayoralty in June 1995, when the Socialist Jean-Paul Planchou took over.

As mayor he oversaw the building of the Noue-Brossard stadium, the opening of the municipal library that later became the Alfred-Bonno archaeological museum, and the opening of the Jehan de Chelles lycee. The town's cultural centre gained a large extension, the Tristan et Iseult hall, and a facade in the shape of half a ship's hull, a reference to his years at sea. He set up the first municipal police brigade, launched early work on geothermal heating, and began restoration of the abbey cloister and the churches of Sainte-Croix and Saint-Georges. The first works on the RER E (Eole) rail line began under his administration in 1992.

In April 1993 Cova was elected to the National Assembly for the seventh constituency of Seine-et-Marne. He was re-elected in 1997 and 2002, sitting with the RPR group and, from 2002, with the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). In 2002 he chose Yves Albarello as his substitute, and when Cova did not stand again in 2007, Albarello was elected in his place.

Cova was married; his wife died before him and was buried in Brittany. He had sons, one of whom announced his death. The current mayor of Chelles, Brice Rabaste, recalled knowing him since he was a schoolboy in the town and said Cova had supported him in the 2014 municipal elections.

Charles Cova died on Saturday 24 October 2026 in Biarritz, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, aged 94. The cause of death was not made public. One of his sons announced the death, and on 26 October the mayor of Chelles, Brice Rabaste, paid tribute to him as a man of character and conviction who had devoted most of his life to public service. The town flew its flags at half mast for the week and opened a book of condolences at the town hall until 31 October. His funeral took place away from the Paris region. The Group of Former Deputies also announced his death.

Cova is remembered in Chelles as the mayor who reshaped the town in the 1980s and early 1990s, with new sports, education and cultural buildings, the first municipal police and the arrival of the RER E. In Rabaste's words, his imprint on Chelles remained visible in daily life for many residents. At the National Assembly he represented the seventh constituency of Seine-et-Marne for fourteen years and passed the seat to his chosen successor, Yves Albarello.