The last veteran of Marshal Leclerc’s 2nd DB remembers the liberation of Paris 80 years ago

A member of the Resistance at 17 and a soldier at 20, Roger Le Neurès took part in the Normandy landings and chased the Nazis back to Germany. Franceinfo met this hero of the Second World War.

France is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris all week from August 19, until the expected climax on Sunday. Roger Le Neurès, 101, took part in these battles which lasted from August 19 to 25, 1944. He is the last veteran of Marshal Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division (DB). Franceinfo collected his testimony, at his home in the Vosges.

A stone’s throw from the esplanade that bears his name in Epinal, Roger Le Neurès lives on the 2nd floor without a lift. He welcomes us with a smile on his lips, azure blue eyes, decorations and medals everywhere. “I turned my office into a museum”explains Roger Le Neurès, who shows his belt that he wore at 21 when his jeep entered the capital. “We were chasing the Germans out of Paris, we were looking for themhe says. That’s where we got to know the barricades.”

“I was on my armoured car at my gunner’s post. We were subjected to machine gun fire at the Tuileries, at the Gare du Nord, at Le Bourget. My armoured car was the first to go up to Mont Valérien when Mont Valérien surrendered.”

Roger Le Neurès, veteran of Marshal Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division

to franceinfo

The fighter of the 2nd DB then remembers the popular jubilation: “We were invaded by a swarm of young people who jumped on our necks. We were quite generous, we gave them chocolate, American cigarettes or chewing gum. We were welcomed like liberators. We were received in a club in Pigalle called Le Grand Jeu. We celebrated Christmas in the club.”

Moments of joy, but also of horror. “We don’t talk much about the hidden side of liberationsays Roger Le Neurès. If there was popular jubilation, obviously, we were still witnesses to a lot of settling of scores. There were women who were arrested and had their heads shaved. There were old men, very often, who were stoned and beaten. They were collaborators, but well, it still wasn’t pretty.”

A few months later, Roger Le Neurès was fighting in Germany when he and his companions learned of the capitulation.In the days that followed, we celebrated the victory together with wine from Marshal Goering’s cellar, which was very similar to good Alsace wine.”

When asked the secret of his longevity at 101 years old: “It’s love”replies Roger Le Neurès, who with his wife Carmen will celebrate their 78th wedding anniversary this Saturday. “If all people loved each other, there would be no war. Love, love life.”