SLIDESHOW. The vibrant tribute of Tarn-et-Garonne to the heroes of the Resistance

This Monday, May 27, veterans’ associations, departmental military leadership, elected officials and students met in the prefecture courtyard for a ceremony in tribute to the 80th anniversary of the Resistance. And what better introduction than reading the letter from Missak Manouchian, this Armenian murdered on February 21, 1944, who entered the Pantheon this year?

“We are going to be shot this afternoon, at 3 p.m. This happens to me like an accident in my life […]. I had joined the Liberation Army as a volunteer soldier and I died on the verge of victory and the goal. Happiness to those who will survive us and taste the sweetness of freedom and peace of tomorrow. I am sure that the French people and all Freedom Fighters will honor our memory with dignity. » In the gray of this month of May, these words read by a student in the defense class of the Family Institute resonate in each of us.

“Soldiers of necessity”

As president of the Gaullist Circle, Francis Causse largely honored the memory of Jean Moulin and General De Gaulle who “embodied the spirit of free France”. “The Normandy landings were made possible thanks to French resistance. This is a historic turning point. At a time when war is at the gates of Europe, we must keep in mind these values ​​of freedom, justice and human dignity,” underlines Francis Causse. “Collective memory is the cornerstone of our future,” he adds.

It is certainly not Vincent Robert who will say the opposite. The prefect is in fact responsible for reading the truly vibrant speech of the Secretary of State for Veterans which, throughout France, recalls the memory of the “raids of those pale mornings”, of “the torture of innocents”, of these “attics that were opened to hide Jews and resistance fighters” and of “all these men and women who grew up in the events”. “These thousands of soldiers of necessity thus crisscrossed the country to trace the features of a France which is raising its head”, underlines Patricia Miralles in the voice of Vincent Roberti who largely honored all the foreigners who fell for France.

Then it’s time for the traditional wreath-laying. Then a powerful voice rises to intone the Marseillaise. Here again, he is a student of the Family Institute. The entire assembly resumes in chorus, thus closing a ceremony that meets the challenges of the duty of memory.