"The mission was a success, but our two soldiers were gone, they had died as heroes for France." Emmanuel Macron made Tuesday, since the Invalides, a national tribute to two soldiers Cédric Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, killed by releasing hostages in Burkina Faso. Their sacrifice challenges, and invites to question the nature of heroism. What is a hero in the 21st century? Europe 1 put this question to the philosopher Emmanuel Jaffelin.
These two men are heroes "because they committed something heroic: they gave up their lives", explains this teacher at the microphone of Matthieu Belliard, in The big evening newspaper on Europe 1. "While we, we consider life sacred, they are able to say that what is more sacred is to risk one's own to defend that of others. "
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Heroism, a form of secular spirituality
By calling these two Navy commandos "heroes", the President of the Republic sheds a sacred light on their actions. "It's an encrypted religiosity, there's something ennobling to say, soldiers who have been killed, they are heroes," says Emmanuel Jaffelin. "Etymologically, the word 'hero' means demi-god Emmanuel Macron and Florence Parly [the Minister of the Armed Forces, ed ] say: 'These heroes have given their lives', it's a form of return to religion in a hyper secular world ", continues this former diplomat.
"This means that these people are not dead, but that after their death they are recognized as being glorified, a spiritual and collective life, a life that gives them a place in society, because they have allowed to four people to save their lives, "he continues. The death of Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello is not only a death that saves, it is also a death that inspires. "What they did gives us confidence in us." Now, is not it proper to the hero to serve as a model?
A sacrifice that gives meaning to everyday life
This sacrifice is further emphasized to the public because armed conflicts are now rare in the West. "We became very cold, very sanitized, we also became very timid.In the Middle Ages, people knew that they were not going to live old, that they would fight, die. to believe that one is immortal, "points Emmanuel Jaffelin, always at the microphone of Europe 1. From here, the stupor provoked by the death of these two men in combat, and the will to pay homage to their gesture, set an example .
Conversely, in times of war, the sacrifices of hundreds or even thousands of soldiers, sacrifices sometimes sadly routine when the conflicts drag on, are not necessarily the subject of such a recollection. "Today, because we live in a pacifist, pacific and peaceful world, when our soldiers die we want to overvalue them", observes Emmanuel Jaffelin. A gesture, "dignified and very spiritual" according to him, precisely because it allows to give meaning to the notions of courage and sacrifice, notions sometimes become distant in our daily lives.
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