Bormes-les-Mimosas (France) (AFP)

A long crowd and a call to the French to "reconcile" after a year marked by the crisis of "yellow vests": Emmanuel Macron closed Saturday in Bormes-les-Mimosas the page of the holidays, at the dawn of a busy return.

Like last year, the President of the Republic participated in the commemoration of the liberation of Bormes-les-Mimosas, the commune of Fort Brégançon, his holiday resort, 75 years ago.

The opportunity to build links between the "heroism" of the Resistance and the soldiers, and the present. But also, during the crowd bath, to signify his determination to reform pensions.

"In recent months we have had difficult moments of division, sometimes of violence, of which we have to know how to get out." There are sometimes good reasons to disagree and we must respect them, there are others that we can contest, however we must know to hear them, "said the President of the Republic.

"Whatever the disagreements, at the great moments of our history we were able to reconcile to move forward," he added. "I believe very deeply that what our country, our continent undoubtedly, and the Western world is going through today, is a deep crisis of doubt, (...) but sometimes also lies in the forgetfulness of courage, in spirit of resignation, in small dropouts, "continued the chief executive.

In front of the mayor, local elected representatives, veterans and some 200 to 300 guests, Mr. Macron, who had only been out three times since the beginning of his holidays, celebrated "the heroes of today", citing the "elected officials of the Republic, members of the civil security, police, gendarmes, military, caregivers".

"Public solidarity"

After this official sequence, the president chained himself on a walkabout for an hour and a half, tanned and smiling, in his shirt-sleeves. His wife, with his arm in a sling, accompanied him.

Some 500 people crowded the main square of Bormes, and the president chained, in a good-natured atmosphere, dozens of handshakes and selfies.

The president, who will make his real comeback Monday with a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Brégançon, crucial before the G7 next weekend, took the opportunity to pass some political messages, including pensions, the reform must be "a true social project ", based on" public solidarity ".

Convictions that he will probably repeat Wednesday, at the Council of Ministers back, with the two flagship dossiers of autumn in the line of sight: pensions, and the extension of the PMA to all women.

"There may be discrepancies and debates in a society, it is necessary to know how to make them live, but we must also know what holds us, where we come from, what links us and what also allows to embrace the future, "commented Mr. Macron to AFP, on the sidelines of his walkabout:" Heroism is still there in society, we have this strength of soul we need now to reveal it ".

© 2019 AFP