Emmanuel Macron on Thursday testified to France's “infinite gratitude” and “eternal gratitude” to London, where he made his first trip abroad since the crisis of the new coronavirus for the 80th anniversary of the call of June 18 from General de Gaulle in 1940.
After commemorating in the morning in Paris this historic call to continue the fight against Nazi Germany, the French president crossed the Channel by plane and awarded the legion of honor to the British capital, which "was the cradle of the Free France ”, the“ last bastion of hope when everything seemed lost ”.
An interview with Boris Johnson
Welcomed under a light rain by Prince Charles, heir to the British crown, Emmanuel Macron then went to 10 Downing Street to meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
It is the French president's first trip abroad since his visit to Naples on February 27 for an Italian-French summit. The restricted delegation was exempted from the 14-day quarantine imposed by London on arrivals due to the coronavirus, a subject which could also be on the menu for discussions between the two men.
Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson must address the current pandemic and the negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, which London and Brussels want to accelerate in the hope of reaching an agreement before the end of the period of transition which ends on 31 December. "We want to talk" about Brexit, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on the BBC on Thursday because "while leaving the EU we can and we want to build even stronger relationships in Europe with our closest neighbors "
A tribute to the Companions of the Liberation
The day after his arrival in London on June 17, 1940, de Gaulle had called on the French military, engineers and workers to join him to continue the fight against Nazi Germany, despite the armistice demanded by Marshal Pétain. "Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not go out and will not go out," he said in concluding his famous speech.
The commemoration of this historic call to continue the fight against Nazi Germany had started in the morning in Paris, with a visit to the Museum of Liberation at the Invalides, where Emmanuel Macron met with Hubert Germain, 99, the one of the last four Companions of the Liberation.
"We must be inspired by this strength of soul," declared the head of state: "Your courage, your virtue in the Roman sense, are a pride for our country and still inspire us". In the museum was presented to him in particular the original text of the call of June 18.
Ceremony without audience
The president then went to the traditional ceremony at the Mont Valérien memorial near Paris, place of execution of resistance fighters and hostages during the Second World War. The Patrouille de France and the Red Arrows of the Royal Air Force flew over the site, then the statue of Winston Churchill in front of the Petit Palais.
It is the first time since the coronavirus crisis that a large-scale military ceremony has taken place, in the presence of numerous personalities, even if the public has not been authorized.
The tutelary figure of the general continues to be a safe haven for the French political class, especially on the right, and particularly in this period of crisis where the concept of "sovereignty" is back in force.
Charles de Gaulle was elected on December 21, 1958 first president of the Fifth French Republic, then re-elected in 1965, before leaving power in April 1969 after the failure of a referendum. His first seven-year term was marked by the Algerian war, decolonization in Africa and the assertion of French sovereignty on the international scene.
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The United Kingdom will decorate the last four companions of the Liberation
- Emmanuel Macron
- Resistance
- France
- Second World War
- United Kingdom
- Charles de Gaulle