Obituary: the passing of Régis Deschamps

Régis Deschamps was a passionate man, a truly passionate one, with his flaws and his qualities. A microlight and paramotor instructor in the 80s, a born competitor and a member of the French team, he was feared by race directors, who dreaded at every event having overlooked a rule that Régis would know how to turn to his advantage.

Régis could be fiery, but he also had a big heart, and he needed to bite into life with both hands. He always had to go the whole way.

A pioneer, he created the paramotor Patrouille de France to promote our discipline. A pioneer again, he was behind the creation of microlight class 6, together with Mathieu De Quillacq. A businessman, he had earlier imported Apollo weight-shift microlights for a time. An adventurer, he decided to fly alone and unassisted to Dakar in a microlight, and he did it. And that was only the microlight part of his life…

His last challenge: crossing the Atlantic under sail without being a sailor, and he succeeded!

For several years he had been living on his boat in Martinique. Once again he went the whole way, and his heart decided otherwise…

The funeral will take place at the Cimetière du Paysager in Puyricard (Bouches-du-Rhône), this Thursday 3 November 2022 at 4.30 pm. As he had lived on his boat for some years, this is the only address available.

Didier Eymin

Dominique Brassaert