Thursday, December 19, several members of Souvenir français came to present the eponymous association to students from the college's two defense classes.
Several members of Souvenir français met the students. Among them, Claude Feisthauer, president of the Chaumont-Vignory-Juzennecourt committee, Daniel Marchal, president of the Arc-en-Barrois committee, Evelyne Noirot, president of the Châteauvillain committee, Francis Retournard, secretary of the Chaumont, Vignory committee, Juzennecourt and deputy general delegate of the Haute-Marne center as well as Patrick Lagrange, standard bearer and treasurer of the Châteauvillain committee.
During this meeting, speakers from the association recognized as being of public utility and placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic presented the numerous missions of French Remembrance. The first of these is the safeguarding of heritage and more precisely the graves of soldiers who died for France which have fallen into disrepair. The second is participation in commemorative life, particularly through ceremonies. And the third is the transmission of memory to younger generations.
A transmission which has somehow taken place via this intervention which notably allowed the middle school students to get to know Evelyne Noirot and Daniel Marchal, respectively president of the committees of the Châteauvillain and Arc-en-Barrois sectors from which the middle school students come. The latter are already well aware of these notions of commitment and citizenship.
“The establishment, through its numerous actions, takes an active part in this work of memory which is permanent: patriotic ceremonies, visits to memorial sites such as in Verdun but also rekindling of the Flame of the Unknown Soldier every year (in 2025 it will be the fourteenth revival for the establishment). Since November 2022, the college has also been the “guardian” of a flag, loaned by the association and having belonged to a veteran, Ange Rotilio. The college is therefore responsible for continuing to keep it alive, which was the case on November 11 when a student, a young firefighter, carried it during the ceremony”, we would like to indicate within of college.
A few weeks ago the director of ONaCVG came to explain to the students the workings of a commemorative ceremony. Thus the intervention which took place on Thursday completed this workshop. The Châteauvillain college recalls that “citizen engagement constitutes an essential pillar of our society and is the backbone of the establishment’s civic journey”. Enough to recall this famous phrase from Kennedy pronounced during his inauguration on January 20, 1971: “Don't ask yourself what your country can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for your country”.
