the eightieth anniversary of the Liberation can be celebrated below the signal of the “rebirth of the Nation” | EUROtoday

Published on : 06/03/2024 – 10:07

4 minutes

Two weeks after the entry into the Pantheon of the Armenian resistance fighter Missak Manouchian, the Élysée introduced, Wednesday March 6, a sequence of recent memorial highlights on the event of the 80^e anniversary of the Liberation.

“2024 will remember the rebirth of our Nation: our country is preparing to commemorate the 80^e anniversary of its Liberation and to celebrate the courage of our liberators, resistance fighters, soldiers of allied countries, fighters of the army reconstituted by Free France on the African continent…”, defined President Emmanuel Macron in a video.

“Among all those that liberated us, many foreigners, or many French of overseas origin, like Missak Manouchian (…) whom we’ve simply honored. Many from Africa, many additionally from the Pacific or from everywhere in the world,” he added.

The Head of State will launch these commemorations on April 16 within the Vercors, the scene of a significant maquis. He will then journey to Morbihan on June 5 to pay tribute to the SAS of Free France parachuted throughout the night time of the Landing in Brittany and to the resistance fighters of the Saint-Marcel maquis. On the identical day, he’ll journey to Saint-Lô, in Manche, to pay tribute to the reminiscence of the civilian victims of the D-Day operations.

Presence of the final veterans for “D-Day”

The subsequent day, for the eightieth anniversary of “D-Day”, Emmanuel Macron will chair a British, American and Canadian ceremony in Saint-Laurent-sur Mer, within the Omaha Beach space. This occasion can be marked by the presence of the final veterans of the Second World War, together with 200 anticipated from overseas and “a few French survivors”, in keeping with the Élysée.

The query of a Russian delegation is into account, additionally indicated the Presidency of the Republic, whereas Vladimir Putin was current on the 70^e anniversary of the Normandy Landings, however absent 5 years in the past.

On June 7, the President of the Republic will commemorate the persistence of the Republic in Bayeux (Calvados) and Cherbourg (Manche) and, three days later, he’ll journey to Tulle (Corrèze) and Oradour-sur-Glane (Haute-Vienne). ), scene of Nazi abuses. On June 18, the normal tribute to General de Gaulle's attraction will happen at Mont-Valérien (Hauts-de-Seine) and on the island of Sein (Finistère).

In addition to a July 14 parade throughout which “the universality of the values ​​of those who liberated the country” can be mentioned, a tribute to the liberation of Provence, with a “real landing” by “real soldiers” and “a amphibious maneuver”, should happen in August, earlier than a tribute to the resistance fighters in Provence.

Eighty years after the liberation of Paris in August, a “popular” occasion can be held round Place Denfert-Rochereau within the capital, then, on the finish of November, the liberation of Strasbourg and the final combating on French soil can be commemorated.

“Transmit the torch of this noble fight”

The Élysée additionally insisted on the institution of a commemorative program made up of “thousands of local events” below the aegis of a public curiosity group referred to as “Mission Libération”. In this context, an enormous assortment of testimonies, movies, images and private diaries was launched amongst French residents. “Make them known, share, make of these sometimes family, intimate traces, instruments of our historians, materials which will become the material of a family memory as well as those of a national history”, requested Emmanuel Macron.

The French are additionally referred to as to have fun the anniversary of the liberation of their village and their metropolis. Finally, college students are additionally requested to “be the actors of this memory” by writing tales concerning the heroes or witnesses of this period.

“While the war is back in Europe and we have again this year the opportunity to honor the last fighters of our Liberation, we must make the most of this opportunity to measure the price of our freedom, to pass on the torch of this noble fight to our young generations, to draw from it precious energy which will strengthen our cohesion and help us build our future”, concluded the French president.

With AFP