Weather spoils commemorations of the landing in Provence and leaves some disappointed

The orange warning for storms in the Var has put paid to the festivities linked to the Allied landings on August 15, 1944, planned in Saint-Raphaël and Toulon.

The storms sweeping through the Var, which is under orange alert, have led to the cancellation of the reenactments of the landing in Provence. In Toulon, on the beaches of Mourillon where the ceremony was to be held, there are many disappointed people.

Under a stormy sky, Diego tries to keep smiling. For him, who arrives from Metz after an 8-hour drive, the party is spoiled. “I came to see my friend who lives in the Var specially to see the patrol, on this day of August 15, with the tanks that they were going to bring back, the machines, etc. But the weather was not good,” he regrets.

There are also many regrets from Ambre, a history student. The reconstruction of this landing represented a living museum for her, with period outfits, 1940s jeeps and planes. Provence misses an opportunity to talk about her landing. “It’s a shame because, for once, there was something that represented the second landing, because we only talk about Normandy and not enough about Provence, she emphasizes. Yet so much has happened.”

“It was good, except for one day.”

Christian, a loyal spectator of the landing commemorations

to franceinfo

Christian comes to attend the D-Day commemoration every year, but this year was special. “It’s heartbreaking for the people who worked on it.. 80 years is a date all the same. When it’s 72 years, 73 years, we count, but it counts less. Ten years ago, for the 70th anniversary, we went to see the Normandy landings. The weather conditions were better. It just goes to show that it’s better in Normandy than here.“, smiled the disappointed spectator.

For the volunteers too, it’s a cold shower; six months of work have gone down the drain. “We are very disappointedsays Patrick Mouline, vice-president of the Mémoire Bormes 1944 association, because the association had placed a lot of hope in this day. A big demonstration was planned. We had put in a lot of resources, people were motivated.” The association’s 70 volunteers, dressed as GIs, were ready to land on the beaches, Serge says: “There were some who were supposed to leave by bus this morning from Bormes-les-Mimosas. They did five kilometers and then the bus stopped and they returned to the depot.”

Everyone was counting on this day to finally publicize this landing in Provence, always in the shadow of that of Normandy and its Hollywood films. “It was a national impact in the sense that there was still France 2 which was broadcasting continuously and live for 2 hours the ceremony, Serge is moved. So obviously, we were on the front line, our teams and our equipment were on the front line. But what do you want us to do in the face of this bad weather decision?” Despite everything, the volunteers are trying to see the bright side of things: smaller events linked to this landing will take place every day for ten days across the Var.