A great bloke: Neighbours pay tribute to France attack victim

Friends and neighbours of Herve Cornara, a successful businessman who was found beheaded in a suspected jihadist attack in France, paid tribute to the 54-year-old father-of-one as a "great bloke" who fought passionately for local issues.

The Frenchman, who leaves a wife and a son in his early 20s, was president of a local tenants' association, for which he "always gave his all," recalled neighbours.

Cornara formed the association 15 years ago to fight for locals' rights.

"He fought with local authorities when the heating wasn't working. He got involved in the campaign to save the post office. He wanted to organise a big BBQ one of these days," said his friend Fernand.

Out walking his dog, Pascal Servino, who said he had "grown up with him", described Cornara as "affectionate" and "generous" and also remembered him as a committed campaigner for local causes.

"As soon as something went wrong, he got stuck in to solve the problem. We will really miss him," said Servino.

He was known as a "child of the area" of Fontaines-sur-Saone -- just to the north of France's second city Lyon -- and was very loyal to a district of the town where his 87-year-old mother also lives in the opposite apartment block.
"He worked very hard, especially when he set up his second business ... we said it would be too much for him," said Fernand Rodriguez, secretary of Cornara's tenants' association.

Boss of a small delivery company, Cornara expanded recently, buying up new premises and taking over the Colicom transport company.

It was this company that employed 35-year-old Yassim Salhi, suspected of being his beheader.

"He was a great bloke, I saw him a lot," said Hamid, one of Cornara's neighbours.

"His garage is next to mine. He transported various products, clothes, car parts," Hamid added.

Another neighbour, Nadine Espitalier, said: "It's monstruous. It's barbarism. They didn't give him a chance and this has to stop."

Around 200 people gathered to observe a minute's silence with the local mayor, who said: "Our friend, our neighbour Herve was assassinated in conditions we cannot describe, victim of a barbaric act."