Europe 1 with AFP 12:22, November 19, 2021
The Pantheon in Paris will open its doors to the general public free of charge on December 4 and 5 on the occasion of Joséphine Baker's entry into its walls on November 30, the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN) announced on Friday.
A historic date for the Pantheon in Paris.
The Monument will open its doors to the general public free of charge on December 4 and 5 on the occasion of Joséphine Baker's entry into its walls on November 30, announced the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN) on Friday.
The Franco-American artist, magazine leader and anti-racist activist, born in 1906, will "enter" in more than a week in the Republican mausoleum dedicated to the characters who have marked the history of France.
The first black woman honored at the Pantheon
Joséphine Baker will be the first black woman to be honored there and the sixth woman only, Simone Veil having been the last to make her entrance in 2018. This feminine "entry" will be materialized by a cenotaph (a statue or funeral plaque without the body of the deceased, Editor's note).
Her body will remain in Monaco where she has been buried since 1975, the date of her death, in the marine cemetery.
"In order to prepare for the ceremony, the Pantheon will be closed from Monday 22 November to Friday 3 December inclusive," specifies the CMN, in a press release.
>> Listen again to the Europe 1 podcast dedicated to Joséphine Baker here
At the end of August, President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the entry of the famous Franco-American artist into the Pantheon, responding positively to an online petition which had collected 38,000 signatures in two years.
Several personalities had also pleaded for an entry of Josephine Baker to the Pantheon, such as singer Laurent Voulzy, novelist Pascal Bruckner or Brian Bouillon-Baker, one of the sons of the Franco-American artist.