At the end of the ceremony at the foot of the Cross of Lorraine, the Minister of Veterans Affairs Jean-Louis Thiériot took time to speak with the young people who had participated. Particularly with the Gendarmerie Cadets, of which this is the first promotion in Haute-Marne.
“You are the future of France, you are the hope of France.” The Minister of Veterans Affairs Jean-Louis Thiériot was delighted to see many young people participating in the ceremony in memory of the death of General de Gaulle. He insisted on his desire that “all the young people of France” take part in “at least one ceremony per year” in a place of memory, stressing that the young people of Haut-Marnes were “ahead”.
Jean-Louis Thiériot wanted to exalt “unity”, without which nothing is possible. And to insist that “whatever its origins, only one thing mattered: the tricolor flag and the values of France”. He then urged young people to “never ask themselves what (their) country could do for them, but what they could do for (their) country”.
“A special word for the Cadets”
They returned to school on Saturday September 21. They form the first promotion of the Haute-Marne gendarmerie cadets. They were going to participate in memorial ceremonies, they had been told so. The affair did not take long… This Saturday, November 9, the first Cadets were present at the foot of the Cross of Lorraine for the 54e anniversary of the General's death. A solemn moment, in the presence of a minister and the prefect Régine Pam, in particular. It wouldn't be long before they plunged into another deep dive… Indeed, Minister Jean-Louis Thiériot wanted to “have a special word” for them.
Being “in uniform, adhering to a rule, to a discipline, for a goal greater than oneself, that really makes sense,” he stressed. “War is at the gates of our country. Nobody knows what can happen. The future of our country will depend on our ability to cope.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre-Yves Fouquet, second in command of the Departmental Gendarmerie Group (GGD 52), indicated to the minister that the year during which the group welcomed the Cadets allowed them to discover the institution… and the others in the department . By saluting the commitment of the supervisors – including that of the reservists.
Jean-Louis Thiériot spoke at length and “at random” with the latter… then inquired about Cadets’ motivations.
On the day they returned to school, we told them that it was not excluded that they would parade in Chaumont for July 14. The moments apart actually arrived… after a month and a half of commitment.
Fabienne Ausserre
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(©JHM).
