a day of memory under close surveillance

Published

Update

Video length: 2 min.

France 3

Article written by

T. de Barbeyrac, C. Weill-Raynal S. Lerch, France 3 Rennes, A.Brodin – France 3

France Televisions

Monday, May 8, spectators were few on the Champs-Elysées to attend the commemorations of the armistice of the Second World War. The police force was indeed important. In the regions, tributes were also paid to the heroes of the Resistance.

Access to Champs-Elysees, Monday, May 8, was part of the obstacle course. The police force was important with a double barrier system. Gatherings were prohibited. As a result, there were very few people, much to the chagrin of the spectators present. “We are really far this year. We are more than ten meters away”, regrets a man. On THE forecourt of the Arc de Triomphe, Emmanuel Macron rekindled the flame of the unknown soldier and saluted the veterans. The spectators were more numerous.

A tribute to Jean Moulin

A little everywhere in France, commemorations took place, as in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine). On May 8, 1945, Louis Giron was 10 years old and living in Guatemala. He still remembers the extraordinary atmosphere. “It’s the day the world stopped crying. We were able, despite the losses, to smile a little”, he recalls. In the afternoon, the president will travel to Lyon (Rhône) to pay special tribute to Jean Moulin, who died under torture in 1943, and to the Resistance.


source site