It was the day that turned World War II upside down.

A gigantic military operation, launched on June 6, 1944, which had seen thousands of soldiers land (and die) on the coast of Normandy, where the Germans did not expect it.


78 years later, it's time to remember.

Still.

The festivities to commemorate D-Day have already started, in Manche and Calvados.

And will take place until June 6, and even beyond.

On the program: parachute drops, parades of historic vehicles, but also fireworks.

The last veterans, the last witnesses, sometimes centenarians, will make the trip.

Maybe one last time.

English and American veterans (the last 30 veterans, who left together from Atlanta, Georgia, were to land in Deauville (Calvados), this Thursday) are notably expected in Colleville-sur-Mer, at the American cemetery.


Planes from the US Air Force and the Patrouille de France are expected to fly over Omaha Beach and dozens of ceremonies are planned throughout the coastal area of ​​the Landings and the Battle of Normandy, from Pegasus Bridge in Sainte-Mère-Eglise (Manche) via Ouistreham, Arromanches, Pointe du Hoc, and these four other key sectors of D-Day: Utah Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach.

“We see that these values ​​of freedom and democracy are being brutally challenged”


If observers already have their eyes riveted on the 80th anniversary in 2024, Jean Quétier, the new president of the D-Day landings committee, points out, on

Actu.fr

, a special year, "after years of Covid-19 and ceremonies in reduced format .

And with, this year, an international context which makes these commemorations take on another dimension”.


We will celebrate in Normandy the liberation from Nazism, with, at the heart of these events, the notions of freedom and democracy, "and we see that these values ​​are being brutally called into question in Ukraine, that we are witnesses to the atrocities committed in times of war," he said.

For the moment, we do not know who will preside over the international ceremony, this Monday, in Bernières-sur-Mer (Calvados).

Representatives of the allied countries will launch a message of peace.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, legislative candidate in the department, could be present.


Recently appointed Minister of the Armies, Sébastien Lecornu is for the moment announced Monday at the ceremony of tradition of the school of Marine Fusiliers, in Ouistreham.

But other political figures could well invite themselves, at the last moment.


World

War in Ukraine: Is the role of the USSR during the Second World War underestimated in education in France?

Did you see ?

United States: The Norman flag flies in the sky for the 100th anniversary of a D-Day veteran

  • World

  • The landing

  • Normandy

  • Veteran

  • Second World War

  • Anniversary