Ten days after the devastating passage of the storm over the archipelago, a day of national mourning was declared by Emmanuel Macron this Monday, December 23. A very rare decision without a defined protocol.
Flags at half mast and contemplation. A day of national mourning is planned for Monday, December 23, given the scale of the disaster in Mayotte, a consequence of the passage of Cyclone Chido on the small archipelago in the Indian Ocean. This decision, taken by Emmanuel Macron during his visit, remains relatively rare in France – it is only the tenth time that such a day has been decreed under the Fifth Republic. If it was originally designed to accompany the death of former presidents, it now embraces a wider range of events significant for the nation, such as attacks, or, for the first time, climatic disasters.
Who decides?
Only the President of the Republic is able to sign the decree on national mourning which will then be published in the Official Journal. If the head of state were to die in the exercise of his functions, it is up to the President of the Senate, exercising de facto interim power, to declare national mourning. The duration of this mourning is set by the President: in the majority of cases, it lasts only one day, but it has happened that it lasts three days.
What is happening?
No legal text delimits precisely how these days must take place, which do not take the form of a ceremony, unlike the national tribute. The only certainty is that it is up to the Prime Minister to set the terms of national mourning. The leastflags are flown at half-mast on public buildings and buildings. A minute of silence may also be observed, if the Prime Minister requests it. The head of government can also decree the closure of administrations, courts, cultural venues and even the postponement of sporting events, but this has only happened very rarely. Even more exceptional is the closure of schools, which has not been decreed since 1974. On the other hand, teachers are sometimes encouraged to hold a minute of silence in class.
For the day of national mourning dedicated to Mayotte, Emmanuel Macron drew the first outlines on X: “Our flags will be at half-mast. All French people will be invited to worship at 11 a.m.without specifying whether it was a minute of silence or not.
What are the precedents?
November 12, 1970: three days after the death of the former President of the Republic, Charles de Gaulle. Public administrations and educational establishments are closed. Shows and sporting events are canceled.
6 avril 1974 : after the death of Georges Pompidou on April 2, current President of the Republic. Once again, administrations are closed, as well as educational establishments.
January 11, 1996: three days after the death of François Mitterrand, former President of the Republic. Unlike the tributes paid to his two predecessors, no closure of schools or administrations is planned this time. But the Prime Minister at the time, Alain Juppé, suggested that teachers “dedicate a course this day to evoking the memory of the former head of state”.
September 14, 2001: after the September 11 attacks in the United States. This is the only time that national mourning has been declared for an event that occurred outside France. This mourning was observed throughout the European Union, which had asked member states to observe three minutes of silence.
January 8, 2015: the day after the’attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo causing twelve deaths.
November 15, 16 and 17, 2015: for the first time, at the request of François Hollande, national mourning extended over three days, after the attacks of November 13 in the Paris region.
July 16, 17 and 18, 2016: François Hollande takes a similar measure in tribute to the victims of the attack of July 14, 2016 in Nice.
September 30, 2019: after the death of Jacques Chirac, former President of the Republic, on September 26. Edouard Philippe, then Prime Minister, wanted to set up a minute of reflection for public service agents, including teachers. The latter could, as with François Mitterrand, devote a course to the memory of the former President.
December 9, 2020: after the death of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, on December 2, former President of the Republic. This is the last national mourning observed before that of Mayotte.
Little anecdote. National mourning does not really date from the Fifth Republic. In reality, such a day had already been organized, only once, in 1930. Echoing that of 2024, it also related to a meteorological disaster: the massive floods that occurred in several departments of the South-West of mainland France , which left hundreds dead and caused extensive material damage.
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