Born in 1934, Gérard devoted his life to serving the community. His involvement in the World Mathematical Year 2000 earned him the D'Alembert Prize in 2002, jointly with Jean Brette, who passed away in January, Mireille Chaleyat-Maurel and Catherine Goldstein. He also helped organize the lecture series "One text, one mathematician", which continues to this day at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
But Gérard is best known for his active role, beginning in 2004, in organizing the Maurice Audin Prize, named after the young mathematician who was abducted and then murdered in murky circumstances. This cause was particularly close to his heart.
