NOVEMBER 11 Gard and Arles celebrate the 106th anniversary of the Armistice

In Nimes

It was with a cool, but typically autumnal temperature that the Nîmes ceremony took place. At the November 11 square, there were nearly 200 people, officials, soldiers, schoolchildren and ordinary citizens. The ceremony commemorating the armistice of November 11, 1918 is often the one most followed by the French and it symbolizes the attachment to the sacrifice of the soldiers who fell during the Great War. At the war memorial, it was first the younger generations (Charles-Martel school and Ada Lovelace college) who took the floor to read a letter from a poilu, then a poem.

It was then Jacky Cantareil, president of the French Union of Associations of Combatants and War Victims of Gard who spoke: “The war memorials are the expression of the unspeakable suffering of our soldiers and civilians. killed during the First World War. Finally, Jérôme Bonnet, the prefect of Gard recalled: “We must remember the young men who gave their lives, at a time when war is back in Europe”. Respecting tradition, the ceremony ended with the laying of wreaths, the Marseillaise and the Song of the Partisans.

In Ales

The duty of remembrance began at 10:30 a.m. at Square Verdun, in the Bosquet gardens. A ceremony marked by the arrival of the flame of the Nation, followed by the reading of messages, the laying of wreaths, the salute to the flag bearers, to the president of the committee of the Legion of Honor Porte des Cévennes, to the military medalists of French Remembrance, associations of Veterans, Sentinels of the Nation. Also present were the Municipal Children's Council, the Youth Forum, the Young Firefighters of Alès, the Universal National Service cadets, the defense cadets from the Racine and Jean Moulin colleges as well as numerous elected officials from the municipal majority and of the opposition.

It's exactly 101 years today that a flame has been burning unceasingly under the Arc de Triomphe. “It is like a perennial symbol which illuminates our history and our future. With the agreement of the president of the Flame Committee, I was able to bring it here to this city which is so dear to me for you. to present.”evokes Doctor Gérard Chaput, president of the Sentinels of the Nation.

Sub-prefect Emile Soumbo read aloud the speech written by Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. “It was 106 years ago, in 1918. At the 11^th time of 11^th day of 11^th months, from the mud of Flanders to the Swiss border, the bugles play the notes of the “ceasefire”. The pride of victory is mixed with the procession of shadows of those “perished in the earth”, accompanied by those who mourn them. It is these sacrifices that we commemorate today, to which have been added since 2012 that of all the “died for France”we could hear.

For the traditional wreath-laying, the Municipal Youth Council and the Youth Forum, supervised by Léa Boyer and Méryl Debierre, the Local Union of Veterans and War Victims, the Harkis d'Alès Veterans Association took turns (by Nadia El Okki), the Sentinels of the Nation, Le Souvenir Français, the 161st section of military medalists, Christophe Rivenq president of Alès Agglomération and David Mazel head of the departmental military delegation, Alexandre Allegret-Pilot deputy for the fifth constituency of Gard, Max Roustan mayor of Alès and Pierre Martin, deputy delegate for veterans then to finish Emile Soumbo, under -prefect of Alès.

To Bagnols/Cèze

November 11 remains a day that is both solemn and symbolic in today's times and revives the hope of a newfound peace while war continues to wreak havoc around the world. In full commemoration of the 106th anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War, signed on November 11, 1918, the speeches were focused on the 168 soldiers from Bagnolais, as well as all their French compatriots, who fell at the front.

At 11 a.m. sharp, the Peña Del Fuego brass band musically guided the flag bearers, municipal elected officials, members of the Municipal Youth Council and Bosquet college students, towards the first monument to the deceased. It was Christian Baume, deputy mayor and security delegate, who spoke first: “Let us remember the sacrifices of these young men. We are the sentinels of the living,” he expressed, before the laying of several wreaths. The tributes then continued at the second memorial at Joseph Thome Square. A moment marked by the committed speech of the mayor of Bagnolais.

“It’s a moment of contemplation but it’s also a call to action”

Jean-Yves Chapelet recalled the commitment and courage of the troops, while delivering a message of unity and open-mindedness in the face of the threats facing the world: “November 11 is a moment of reflection, of course. A call to memory. But it is also a call to action. More than ever, we must work to build not a Europe of partitions and walls, but a Europe of bridges, a Europe that reaches out to each other.”

Heroism of soldiers praised

Peace returned with insistence in the words of the mayor: “We honor the sacrifices of those who, more than a century ago, faced the horror of the trenches to preserve our peace and dignity.” Remembering so as not to forget is the mentality of Jean-Claude Mougenot, who presided over the vigil for the soldiers at the same place on Sunday November 10, still as moved as ever. when talking about French and Gard veterans: “We will never pay enough tribute to the heroism and valor of the poilus” proclaimed the president of the Veterans of Bagnols, before paying a poignant tribute to two friends including Maurice Soullier, a figure of Bagnolais veterans, who died on September 25.

RN MP Pascale Bordes was also present alongside municipal elected officials and presented the National Assembly medal to Claude Martinez, to congratulate his 38-year loyalty as standard bearer. “I hope you will be here for at least the next 38 years to continue to remember us.” The elected officials greeted the flag bearers and thanked the public for coming in large numbers to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers, before the commemorative ceremony closed.

In Saint-Gilles

The meeting was at 10:15 a.m. on Place Gambetta. The well-stocked procession – flag bearers, representatives of the armed forces, veterans, French Remembrance as well as municipal elected officials, students from the Jean-Moulin school and the Jean-Vilar college, class volunteers defense, etc. – marched through the streets of the city to the War Memorial, opposite the town hall.

Building on which the names of the 158 Saint-Gillois fallen during the Great War are engraved, Mayor Eddy Valadier cited them all during his speech. Since 2012, on November 11, the anniversary of the armistice of 1918 and the annual commemoration of victory and peace, tribute has been paid to all those who died for France.

« We unite so that the essential flame of memory continues, of the passing of the baton, that which must remind us, particularly the younger generations, how deadly wars, all wars, are. They leave behind bitterness, sorrow and dismay », indicated the first Saint-Gillois councillor, attaching to his speech the sad news in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The students of the Jean-Vilar college read a letter from a poilu, those of the Jean-Moulin school sang the Marseillaise a cappella before the traditional release of doves.

In Arles

In Arles and in all its villages, ceremonies commemorating the armistice of November 11, 1918 and paying tribute to all those who died for France took place with the participation of the picket of honor of the 25th air engineer regiment. 'Istres.

At 4:15 p.m., the meeting took place in front of the war memorial, boulevard des Lices, after a gathering in front of the cemetery, boulevard Émile-Combes. It is Cécile Lenglet, sub-prefect of Arles, who read the message from Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans.