Emmanuel Macron celebrated Saturday at Mont-Valérien, in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine), the 82nd anniversary of the Appeal of June 18, the first since the disappearance of the last Companion of the Liberation. In the presence of soldiers, veterans and members of the government, the Head of State attended under a blazing sun the commemorations of the appeal launched in 1940 by General de Gaulle and gathered in the crypt for the victims of the Nazism.
It is “the first commemoration after the disappearance of the last Companion of the Liberation” Hubert Germain, who died on October 12 at the age of 101, recalls the Elysée.
Hubert Germain was buried in the crypt of the Mont-Valérien memorial, the main place of execution of resistance fighters and hostages by the German army during the Second World War. Charles de Gaulle inaugurated the Memorial of Fighting France there in 1960. In this context, the ceremony was “an opportunity to mark the durability of the values of the Order and to highlight their transmission to young people, as Hubert Germain had ardently wished”, according to the Élysée.
“A lot of humility”
After the Marseillaise and a review of the troops, the text of General de Gaulle’s appeal of June 18 was read before a revival by the mayor of the Ile de Sein.
On the eve of the second round of the legislative elections, several guests mentioned the election during the greetings at the end of the ceremony. “Don’t forget to go and vote above all”, launched a spectator to the Head of State. To another who wished him “good luck for tomorrow”, Emmanuel Macron assured that “commemorating these pages of history encourages us to be very humble, to remind us of what we do by being only a handful “. “We are very lucky, that too must oblige us”, he added, launching: “duty before the rest”.
For this ceremony, the Head of State was notably accompanied by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. Former Head of State Nicolas Sarkozy, Senate President Gérard Larcher and Paris Police Prefect Didier Lallement also attended.