The “theft” of wreaths, flowers and commemorative plaques from the graves of British soldiers, in around ten cemeteries in Finistère, was not one of them. “It’s not vandalism. It’s our gardener who is cleaning the graves in Finistère. It removes everything that is faded, damaged, dry or dead,” explained, after a quick investigation, Pascal-Louis Caillaut, head of communications in France for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), an organization overseeing soldiers’ graves. of the former British Empire.
” A storm in a glass of water “
“It’s a storm in a teapot,” the manager also said, adding: “We have very high quality standards. When flowers are in poor condition, we systematically remove them out of respect for the soldiers.”
The affair, revealed in the columns of Le Télégramme on May 21, provoked numerous reactions. “On the eve of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation, these depredations are an unacceptable affront to the memory of the thousands of young British people who came to fight and die in France, for our freedom. I trust the investigators and the justice system that the perpetrator(s) of this damage will be quickly found and punished. Dirtying memory is destroying the hope of living free for generations to come,” was particularly outraged by the deputy for Brest Centre, Jean-Charles Larsonneur.
3,000 sites in France managed by the CWGC
“It makes no sense, it’s scandalous and stupid,” lamented, for his part, François Fouré, general delegate of Souvenir Français du Finistère, announcing the filing of several complaints for theft.
The CWGC manages 3,000 sites in France, including 1,000 of its own cemeteries and 2,000 squares in municipal cemeteries.
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