VIDEOS. Three sequences to remember from the tribute paid to the French victims of October 7

An unprecedented ceremony outside of Israel. France paid tribute, four months to the day after the assault by the Palestinian Islamist movement, to the French victims of the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas which resulted in the death of nearly 1,200 people, including 42 French people. Three chairs had been left empty in the family gallery, for the three French people still presumed hostages of the Palestinian Islamist movement. Franceinfo looks back on the three notable sequences of this ceremony.

The portraits of the victims exhibited against the backdrop of Maurice Ravel’s Kaddish

The ceremony opened with the entry into the courtyard of the Invalides of portraits and the ages of the victims carried by Republican Guards with musical accompaniment of a rendition of the Kaddish by the composer Maurice Ravel. This praise was performed by the Republican Guard orchestra.

Emmanuel Macron denounces the “greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”

“On October 7, at dawn, the unspeakable resurfaced from the depths of History”declared the Head of State in his speech which denounced “the greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”. “We are 68 million French people bereaved by the terrorist attacks of October 7”continued Emmanuel Macron.

Chopin’s “Funeral March” accompanies the departure of the portraits

After one Marseillaise sung in front of a French flag and a minute of silence, the orchestra of the Republican Guard sang the Funeral parade by Chopin. The portraits of the victims were taken out of the courtyard of the Invalides. The families and loved ones of the victims followed the procession.