André has lived through two world wars and both the 1918 influenza pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years.
André didn’t even realize she had caught COVID-19 as she had no symptoms during her illness.
In her final years, André faced signs of aging that caused her to feel “lonely,” including blindness and the need to use a wheelchair, the New York Times reported.
“She had become for the French a symbol of continuity and resistance, a memory of the century,” a statement from French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, the Times reported. According to the AP, the statement also lauded “this altruistic personality whom the French considered as a reference, a source of pride and attachment.
