Lhe commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the landing in Normandy took place this Thursday. At Ohama Beach, the international ceremony at the end of the day brought together heads of state and veterans. An aerial parade bringing together French and American pilots closed the ceremony.
American Presidents Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gathered at Ohama Beach, among around twenty heads of state and government.
They set foot on the most emblematic beach of the Landings, near Bayeux (Calvados), where the first American soldiers landed at dawn on June 6, 1944, and where the Allies lost the most men to the deluge of German fire. .
In the surrounding villages, several houses decorated their gardens with American, British, Canadian and French flags.
Ahead of the ceremony, barges docked at Omaha Beach for a period re-enactment.
In the morning, national ceremonies were chaired by King Charles III, President Biden and Justin Trudeau, in the presence of the last veterans.
Triumphant welcome for Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky eclipsed his counterparts when he arrived on Normandy’s most famous beach. As soon as it appeared on the giant screen, a thrill ran through the stands where 5,000 spectators gathered.
The Ukrainian president first received a warm hug from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. As he entered the enclosure, to the clamor of the public, the telephones went up. Volodymyr Zelensky was then entitled to new embraces from the heads of state and government who had appeared before him and warm handshakes from several veterans.
Their testimonies, before, during and after June 6, 1944, punctuated the ceremony. “When we heard the news of the Landings, it was immense joy. Before that, we wondered what we were going to become. Afterwards, we saw the end of the tunnel,” recalls Jean Turco, 106 years old, formerly of the 46th infantry division reconnaissance group.
At the end of the ceremony, the Ukrainian president was again entitled to a standing ovation when his presence was greeted by Emmanuel Macron. “Thank you to the Ukrainian people, to their bravery. We are here and we will not weaken. Freedom is a fight every morning. June 6 is a never-ending day, a dawn that keeps repeating itself. »
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited to this day of commemorations.
Aerial parade
The international ceremony ended with the aerial parade, opened by the Patrouille de France and the Red Arrows of the Royal Air Force. An American formation composed of a KC-135 aerial refueler and two F-35 fighters, a French block composed of an Airbus A330 aerial refueler and four Rafales and two transport blocks composed of two French C-130s, A Canadian C-130, a Belgian Airbus A400M and four American C-130s then joined the procession, reports The world.
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