The Head of state went to Aubagne for the first time on Wednesday to preside over the commemorations of this historic battle which occurred in Mexico in 1863.
A historical error? During a meeting organized in Auxerre (Yonne) in front of a few hundred rebellious activists, Jean-Luc Mélenchon strongly attacked Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening. The multiple presidential candidate severely criticized the arrival, for the first time, of the Head of State in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône), historic stronghold of the Foreign Legion, to preside over the ceremony of the Battle of Camerone. On April 30, 1863, 62 French legionaries, commanded by Captain Jean Danjou, had stood up for almost 10 hours at more than 2,000 Mexican soldiers. Responsible for protecting the passage from a refunding convoy of French troops which besieged the city close to Puebla, the legionaries entrenched in a hacienda in the village of Camaron de Tejeda had oaths to fight until death. They held almost 11 hours before perishing, bayonet in hand.
“We celebrate a battle that we have lost, against the people, by the Empire”castigated the rebellious leader, saying that Napoleon III, then in power, had “The intention of making an Austrian emperor accept by the Mexicans”. “They came across the Mexican army of Puebla. Everyone said to themselves: “Easy, they are conservatives, they will be with us!”. This is not what happened ”said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, before reading a text by Victor Hugo, then in exile in Guernsey, in support of the inhabitants of Puebla. “Mr. President, think about what you are celebrating,” said the rebellious. No, not all battles are to our taste, even if we recognize the dedication of those who, obedient, do what they have been told. ”
The spirit of the “code of honor”
If the battle of Camerone is indeed a French military defeat, it embodies the spirit of “Honorary Code” of the Foreign Legion, composed today of 9,500 men of nearly 150 different nationalities: loyalty to the mission, discipline, heroism, selflessness and solidarity. This is the reason why every April 30, this founding moment is celebrated in the Viénot district of Aubagne, historic seat of the fighting force of the Army.
After reviewing the troops on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron said that France “Is a homeland of will and bravery, which is not defined by blood, neither by a race, nor by a religion, nor by a fixed identity”. France is defined by “A desire every day started again to do great things with a handful of our earth in hand. A dream of universal, an ideal, this solidarity, this fidelity to the fatherland ”, he added. Declarations that echo the Legion motto, Legio our homeland (the Legion is our homeland), and the emblematic formula “French by the blood shed”. Far from the accusations of the rebellious opponent.
