which presidents of the Republic have initiated the most ceremonies in memory of personalities?

Emmanuel Macron chairs Wednesday the tribute paid to the admiral and son of Charles de Gaulle. This is the 26th time it has organized this type of event since 2017.

A new solemn moment in memory of a great figure. At Invalides, Wednesday March 20, Emmanuel Macron will chair a ceremony paying tribute to Philippe de Gaulle, admiral and son of General de Gaulle, who died a week earlier. This is already the third national tribute paid by the President of the Republic since the start of 2024. The illustration of a broader trend: with 26 national tributes in memory of civil personalities organized since his election in May 2017 , Emmanuel Macron thus places himself at the head of the Presidents of the Republic who have initiated this type of ceremonies the most.

Unlike pantheonization, which can take place decades after the death of a personality, national tribute “usually occurs shortly after the death of the person“, underlines Sébastien Ledoux, historian and specialist in memorial issues at the University of Picardie Jules Verne. These ceremonies are decided on the initiative of the President of the Republic, who delivers, most of the time, a funeral eulogy.

Before the 2010s, these events were quite exceptional when it came to civilian personalities (we have not included in this count national tributes to soldiers killed on mission). Jacques Chirac only celebrated five during his mandates and Nicolas Sarkozy only three. As for François Mitterrand, in 14 years of presidency, he only took the decision to celebrate a national tribute twice, on the occasion of the deaths of Pierre Mendès France and Henri Frenay.

It was from the presidency of François Hollande that the number of tributes paid each year increased significantly. Emmanuel Macron therefore did not initiate this frequent use of commemorations, but he intensified it: in a little less than 7 years in office, he initiated a tribute approximately every three months. He also established the national day of tribute to the victims of terrorism, commemorated every March 11 since 2020.

A “militarization of memory”

For Sébastien Ledoux, historian specializing in memory, “the inflation of national tributes goes with a form of militarization of national memory“Because, with a few exceptions, most of these ceremonies concerned civilians, but took place in the main courtyard of the Invalides, a building which still has military functions today.”Paying national tributes to civilians in an enclosure which is of military tradition, this is part of a broader evolution of a political power which mobilizes military symbols”, analyzes the lecturer at the University of Picardie Jules-Verne. In his eyes, this turning point was taken under François Hollande, in connection with the terrorist attacks of 2015.

This dynamic continued under Emmanuel Macron, who developed a real memory policy. “For François Hollande, these numerous tributes were above all a reaction to the attacks. Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, has a very personal approach to this.”explains Sébastien Ledoux. “He had thought about his memorial policy well before his election. And it is part of a more general evolution which mobilizes military symbols, such as the SNU [service national universel]the uniform or the notion of ‘rearmament'”.

An affirmation of the presidential figure

For the historian, these numerous tributes are also a way for the President of the Republic to assert himself in the face of the horizontality that social networks have introduced in recent years. He sees it, for the Head of State, as a way of “choose the incarnations of the national narrative“, while presenting oneself as an element of this story.

“The President of the Republic thus gives himself the monopoly of telling history. Emmanuel Macron strongly mobilizes this presidential prerogative, in an aspiration for strong power, in the completely Gaullian tradition of the power of the Fifth Republic.”

Sébastien Ledoux, historian and specialist in memory issues

at franceinfo

For the executive, these ceremonies are also a way to reassert control over the course of time, in a world that is always moving faster. “By trying to find rituals which are rituals of suspending time, the president also asserts himself as master of clocks“, underlines Sébastien Ledoux.

But doesn’t the frequency of these tributes risk emptying them of their meaning? “For the moment, the Élysée does not seem to perceive this risk, since it is pursuing this in this direction. But to what extent do people still feel concerned about this?”asks Sébastien Ledoux. “It’s difficult to say. But apart from the guests of the national tribute who are present at the Invalides, we cannot really speak of popular enthusiasm.“