Emmanuel Macron honors, on Sunday, May 17, "the spirit of resistance" by commemorating in the Aisne a battle in which Charles de Gaulle, then unknown colonel, became famous in 1940. It is the first step in a series of celebrations this year in tribute to "the man of June 18". 

Scheduled for a long time, this presidential trip is the first, in more than two months, not to be devoted to the fight against the coronavirus. 

The president is expected at 11am in Dizy-le-Gros, a small village northeast of Laon (still in Hauts-de-France), where he will meditate before a monument in memory of the fighters of the "Battle of France "which, despite its 60,000 deaths in the spring of 1940," is a blind spot of French military memory ", according to the Élysée. 

Then, at La-Ville-aux-Bois-les-Dizy, he will deliver a speech to salute the action of Charles de Gaulle who launched on May 17, 1940 the 4th battleship division in an attempt to slow down the rapid advance of the Wehrmacht in northern and eastern France. 

A "courageous defeat" 

The "Battle of Montcornet" failed, but was later seen as a "courageous defeat", one of the few counterattacks showing that the French army could put the Germans in trouble. A text read during the ceremony will recall the historical details of the episode. 

"It is from there [that] hope [grew] and ended by what has been called the liberation of France," said de Gaulle, returning to the scene as president, a quarter century later. 

In his speech, Emmanuel Macron "will honor the refusal of resignation and the spirit of resolution and resistance" which the high-ranking official had shown in the face of the "spirit of defeat" of certain French military and political leaders, indicates l 'Elysium. 

"Heritage" 

For this sober ceremony and in a limited format due to the pandemic, the Head of State will be surrounded by the Minister of Public Accounts, Gérald Darmanin, Yves de Gaulle, grandson of the former president, as well as Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France (ex-LR) and Hervé Gaymard, president of the Fondation de Gaulle. 

This year, Emmanuel Macron intends to celebrate two other anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the June 18 Appeal at Mont-Valérien and may be in London if health conditions allow; then the fiftieth anniversary of de Gaulle's death, on November 9, 1970 in his property in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises (Haute-Marne). 

Since the beginning of the quinquennium, Emmanuel Macron has, on several occasions, expressed his admiration for the founder of the Fifth Republic, with in particular the presence of the General's "War Memories" on his official photo or the addition of a cross of Lorraine with the Élysée logo.  

"The form of overrun above the parties in the service of the Nation advocated by de Gaulle was able to inspire Emmanuel Macron, himself a follower of the overrun," said the entourage of the president. 

These commemorations are little disputed in France, where de Gaulle "entered the heritage" and where "anti-Gaullism has now almost disappeared", according to the same source. 

But some, especially on the right - The Republicans claim to be the Gaullist party - warn against a political recovery. 

Emmanuel Macron "likes to commemorate a lot, to put on the clothes of this or that great figure in our history," said Bruno Retailleau, leader of LR senators. But according to him, it is necessary "to distinguish what is of the order of commemoration" and "the political uses which can be made of this type of meeting". 

The notion of "sovereignty" is the value attached to Gaullism which is most emphasized by the left and right parties, especially since the start of the coronavirus crisis. 

Even the extreme right, anti-Gaullist tradition due in particular to the war in Algeria, today sees in de Gaulle the embodiment of "sovereignty, independence, the ability to say no, to rebel ", according to Philippe Olivier, special advisor to Marine Le Pen. 

With AFP

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