Three high school students from Châteaubriant, winners of the 1st national prize for the resistance and deportation competition, received at the Élysée on May 7 as part of the 80th anniversary of the Nazi capitulation in Europe
Wednesday, May 7, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, will receive at the Palais de l’Elysée three students from the Saint-Joseph Institute in Châteaubriant: Jeanne Chantebel, Charlotte Fonlupt and Adèle Hervé, winners of the 1st National Prize for the Resistance and Deportation Competition. They will be accompanied by their supervising teachers, Ms. Catherine Ciron and Mrs. Élodie Fatien.
Jeanne Chantebel, Charlotte FONLUPT and Adèle Hervé alongside Véronique GASTÉ, Assistant Academic Director of the National Education Services of the Rector Katia Béguin
The three young girls won the first national prize thanks to an original project and deeply engaged on the theme “Resisting deportation in France and Europe”. Their work has taken the form of a miniature museum. This model is made up of different parts, which each illustrate an action of resistance to the deportation.
Their project combines national memory and local anchoring. He notably highlights the history of the Mousson family, one of the three families of Loire-Atlantique to have received the title of righteous among the nations; That of the three children Sinenberg, saved from the Drancy internment camp thanks to false Catholicity certificates; Or that of Célestin Deroche, resistant of Sion-les-Mines and great-grand-none of Adèle Hervé. The Shoah is also discussed through the testimony of Ida Grinspan, survivor of Auschwitz, who testified several times in Châteaubriant and who was a friend close to Ms. Ciron.
This national competition was proposed by the Saint-Joseph Institute to students volunteers, outside of school time. Carried out on their free time, Wednesdays and Saturday afternoons, the work of Jeanne, Charlotte and Adèle (then in the final year) first won the first prize at the departmental level in July 2024. He was then selected to represent their academy during the national phases, where he won first place. A major recognition which testifies to the quality of their commitment and the rigor of their approach.
The three students, accompanied by their teachers, will receive their prices from President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, after the presentation of their model. The ceremony will take place in the presence of Ms. Élisabeth Borne, Minister of State, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research, as well as Ms. Patricia Mirallès, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Armies, in charge of memory and veterans.
The next day, Thursday, May 8, the Castelbriantaise delegation will take part in the commemorative ceremony of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Allies, which will be held before the Arc de Triomphe. They will then attend the peace concert given in the evening. These official events will be broadcast live on television.
For Ms. Catherine Ciron, this competition has a scope far beyond school exercise: “He participates in the transmission of history and memory to young generations. A huge pride for the Saint-Joseph Institute in Châteaubriant, led by Ms. Hervy, and for an entire educational community engaged in the duty of memory.
