With his entry into the Pantheon, “the complete panorama of those who led the fight in the Resistance during the Occupation will be completed”, estimates the Elysée. Eighty years to the day after his execution by German soldiers, resistance fighter Missak Manouchian will enter the Pantheon on Wednesday February 21, alongside his wife Mélinée and 23 resistance fighters who were executed the same day. The ceremony honoring the communist activist and survivor of the Armenian genocide is scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. An event to follow live on France 2, franceinfo channel 27 and franceinfo.fr which are devoting a special edition to this event from 5 p.m.
The Armenian Prime Minister present. Nikol Pashinian will be present during the ceremony and will be received by Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée, where the two leaders will also discuss relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
A special edition on France 2 and franceinfo. From 5 p.m., you will be able to follow the event live in a program presented by Julian Bugier, with columnists and special correspondents from France Télévisions, as well as numerous guests.
A procession punctuated by “artistic moments”. The pantheonization ceremony will see the coffins of Missak and Mélinée Manouchian transported to rue Soufflot by soldiers of the Foreign Legion (“foreigners who chose to fight for France”, points to the Elysée). An ascent punctuated by three breaks “which correspond to the major chapters of [sa] life”, details the Elysée: the Armenian genocide, his arrival in France and his commitments, then his involvement in the Resistance. At the end of the procession, the coffin of Missak Manouchian will be welcomed on the square of the Pantheon with “a representation of comrades” of the resistant, specifies the Elysée. Finally, the coffin will enter the temple “and will be honored both by a number of artistic talents then the speech of the President of the Republic”before being taken to vault 13 of the Pantheon.
Honor resistance fighters of all nationalities. The Elysée underlines that Missak Manouchian, survivor of the Armenian genocide, died stateless, and that, among the 23 other fighters, there are for example Poles, Hungarians, Italians and Spaniards. “It will be an opportunity to remember that being French is not about origin, religion, first name, but about will”insists the Elysée.