Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu follows in the footsteps of Georges Clemenceau in Eure

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The inhabitants of the small village of Bernouville experienced November 11 in the presence of the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu.

He participated in the unveiling ceremony on the facade of the town hall of a plaque in honor of Georges Clemenceauformer President of the Council and “Father Victory” in 1918.

The politician bought a second home in which he lived for several years at the beginning of the last century.

At the request of French Souvenir

It is at the request of French souvenir that this plaque was fixed on the exterior wall of the town hall.

Its national president, Serge Barcelliniwas delighted with the installation of this commemorative plaque.

“We are here in the continuity of a path of memory in the footsteps of Clemenceau. His presence here in Bernouville was less known until now than his residence in Vendée. We wanted to fix that. We are also working to put a plaque on the building in which he lived in the United States.”

An approach welcomed by the Minister of the Armed Forces who, although he did not give a speech, unveiled with the children of the town's school this plaque which now adorns one of the exterior walls of the Bernouville town hall.

Tribute from the mayor

In the village, no one had forgotten the residence of the “Tiger”.

Starting with the mayor, Christian Langlet who outlined in his speech the character of this historical figure.

“He refused defeat, announcing forcefully: 'I am waging war,' which he did with unwavering force until the Armistice of 1918. Villages like ours suffered from this war. This morning, we honored our fourteen Bernouville residents who fell at the front. Even in our smallest towns, far from big cities, the republican ideals defended by Georges Clemenceau continue to live on.”

An anecdote from the life of the Municipal Council of the time, of which this illustrious resident was a member, was revealed by the mayor, highlighting the character of the “Tiger”.

“In 1912, he responded favorably to the mayor's request to appear on the municipal election list. »

Think before you act

Among the rare points that he himself dealt with – his presence being very sporadic at municipal councils – he voted for the reseeding of part of a municipal marsh.

“Mr Clemenceau not being competent, he listened and accepted the deliberation which was signed. It was a considerable expense that the municipality would thus incur. Shortly after, the elected officials took an opposing view and abandoned the operation, thinking that it was necessary to do otherwise. Then Georges Clemenceau, who until then had stood very quietly at the end of his table, let his irritation show. He then said: 'You, gentlemen, have made a decision, you must have it carried out. You had to think before and not after. We don't go back on what was decided, too bad if you were wrong! For me, that's not the way I act. You must first know what you want, then you must have the courage to say it, and then the energy to do it.”

Many elected officials

The ceremony took place in the presence of many veterans, starting with the standard bearers of Andelys, chaired by Christian Dubois.

We will also note the presence of numerous elected officials, including senators in particular. Hervé Maurey et Kristina Plushthe president of Eure Departmental Council, Alexandre Rassaërtand many mayors of the canton but also, on the state representative side, the sub-prefect of Andelys, Nicolas Lebas.

The tribute to Georges Clemenceau was also enhanced by a musical performance provided by the Norman Vexin Choircongratulated by Sébastien Lecornu who even sang some patriotic songs with the choristers.

Lifting of the gendarmerie system

The ceremony continued with the sharing of a friendly drink in the absence of the minister, who left towards the town of Vernon where he participated in another patriotic ceremony.

Shortly before 4 p.m., the gendarmerie device which filtered access to the town hall street was lifted, after the departure of the minister.

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