Every morning, Nicolas Turon pays tribute to his department with a funny, tender and knowing text, in the form of a declaration of love for the Moselle. He chooses an emblem belonging to history or current events and treats it in an offbeat way.
We are first struck by the antinomy: we cannot be both general AND sheep, we cannot both preside over the destiny of an army and be a follower without character, we cannot both be at the top of the hierarchy and have the wool taken from your back… Unless, like Georges Mouton, you were born in 1770 in Phalsbourg and distinguished yourself during the wars of the Empire.
Faithful to Napoleon, Georges in fact fought at Jena, at Friedland (where he was seriously injured, on the verge of a méchoui), at Burgos, where he triumphed over the Spaniards, at Wagram, Dresden or Waterloo… But it was in Austria that he entered history: on April 21, 1809, the Austrians resisted the army of the Empire and prevented it from taking Landshut. Mouton, freshly arrived on the ground of hostilities, is entrusted with the mission of taking the city directly by the Emperor. The general complies, penetrates the enemy lines, and effectively conquers the city! The grunts, galvanized, cross a bridge without Mouton jumping. At the end of the battle, Napoleon, to salute the bravery of his general, said these words which will remain: “My Sheep is a lion”.
The formula is so beautiful that it will become – among other things – the name of an Alsaco-Moselle Young Public Theater Festival…
