These verses were recited on November 11, 1924. The day of its inauguration, when “the familiar syllables”, the surnames of the sacrificed, “found to shelter them the very heart of the old stones which are the flesh of the city”.
The sub-prefect, Fabrice Rosay, rekindled the flame of memory with Jean-René Etchegaray, mayor of Bayonne.
Yoann Boffo
“An act of education”
Two years before, the State had made November 11, the date of signing of the armistice in 1918, a day dedicated “to the commemorations of the victory”. A public subscription, launched immediately by the Bayonne municipality, made it possible to entrust the sculpture to Lucien Brasseur, a recognized artist, already honored with the Grand Prix de Rome in 1905. “Leaning against our ramparts, it must have been a true work of art . It was and still is in this 21ste century,” underlined Jean-René Etchegaray in his speech. The mayor paid tribute to the local craftsmen mobilized to renovate the monument on the occasion of the centenary. “It was, for the City, a moral obligation: to renew the splendor of those who fell on the field of honor. »
