France commemorated this Wednesday the end of the fighting of the First World War. As every year, the 11 November ceremonies brought together elected officials, members of the armed forces, veterans and citizens around war memorials across the country. But this year’s events inevitably had a political dimension, with several contenders in the presidential election taking part, each choosing their own location and message.
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In Paris, Emmanuel Macron presided over the national ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe. It was his last 11 November as head of state. The president first paid tribute to Georges Clemenceau, laying a wreath in front of his statue on the Champs-Élysées, before heading to Place de l’Étoile. After reviewing the troops, he rekindled the flame of the Unknown Soldier and observed a minute’s silence.
The names of five service members who have died for France since the start of the year were then read out. Among them were adjudant-chef Thibaud Breteau, who died in the Levant, major Arnaud Frion, killed in Iraq, as well as three soldiers who died in Lebanon: adjudant Florian Montorio, sergent Anicet Girardin and caporal-chef Florian Gillet.
La Marseillaise was then sung by the army choir.
The head of state did not speak during the ceremony. However, he posted on X, stating that “Le Bleuet de France is the memory of those who have died for France. It expresses our solidarity with those who still bear the scars of History,” and adding that “behind every uniform, there is courage. Behind every sacrifice, a family. Behind every hero, France that remembers.”
In Hénin-Beaumont, Marine Le Pen calls for national unity
It was in her stronghold of Pas-de-Calais that Marine Le Pen chose to commemorate 11 November. The RN presidential candidate paid tribute to soldiers killed in action, but also to the women who remained on the home front during the conflict.
In her speech, she stressed the need to preserve collective memory and keep alive the sense of national belonging. “Honouring their memory, we commit ourselves to preserving the values for which they fought: sovereignty, freedom and love for our homeland.”
Evoking the spirit of resistance and sense of duty of the Poilus, the name given to French soldiers during WW1, Marine Le Pen called for collective action in the face of hardship: “Faced with the misfortunes of the country, we cannot remain spectators or commentators,” insisting that national cohesion cannot be built on a loss of bearings or on amnesia.
In Creuse, Jean-Luc Mélenchon chooses a pacifist monument
For his part, Jean-Luc Mélenchon opted for a less conventional trip. The La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) leader travelled to Gentioux-Pigerolles, in the Creuse department, centre of France, to take part in the ceremony in front of the village war memorial. This is a highly symbolic site, known for its inscription “Cursed be war”. The monument depicts an orphan raising his fist towards the names of soldiers killed in combat, as shown in a photo in this post on the presidential candidate’s X account.
A tribute marked by pacifism and anti-militarism, which makes Gentioux-Pigerolles a rallying point for activists committed to these ideas.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s choice is therefore no accident. The France Unbowed candidate, who had already visited the site in the past, framed his speech around remembrance and a rejection of war.
“I come here because, like many others, I believe that whoever does not know their history and has not reflected on it is exposed to seeing it repeat itself, without being able to recognise its features when it comes. It is our mission, we Unbowed, to carry History,” he said.
He also hammered home his opposition to any preparation for conflict: “Down with war! We will not wage it, we will not organise it, we will not prepare it!”, a pacifist message that echoes his recent statements on Ukraine.
At a rally last Saturday in Le Bourget, Jean-Luc Mélenchon defended the idea of “consulting” the inhabitants of Donbas, largely occupied by the Russian army, about their future, as part of a settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
This proposal earned him a firm response from Ukrainian diplomacy, which recalled that Ukrainians, including the inhabitants of Donbas, had already chosen their borders at the 1991 independence referendum.
This Wednesday in Gentioux-Pigerolles, the France Unbowed leader also called for national unity, which he considers inseparable from that of the French people, while denouncing racism and hatred of others.
