France: Missak and Mélinée Manouchian, two foreign resistance fighters enter the Pantheon
The stateless poet Missak Manouchian and his wife Mélinée as well as 23 of his comrades in arms enter the Pantheon in Paris this Wednesday, February 21. 80 years after their death, this event is France's ultimate recognition of these symbols of foreign resistance in France.
During the tribute paid to Mont Valérien, February 20, 2024. AFP - STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
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“
A Frenchman preferably
”, this is how the Élysée describes Missak Manouchian who enters this Wednesday with his wife the Pantheon, a republican sanctuary whose motto, “To great men the grateful homeland”, adorns the pediment. A message which is not neutral in a France divided by the debate on immigration.
Born in
Turkey
to an Armenian family, Missak Manouchian died stateless after twice applying for French nationality, without success. And yet, it was to defend France
that
he sacrificed his life by joining the resistance in the name of the values of his country of heart.
Also read: Missak and Mélinée Manouchian, symbols of foreign resistance in France
A fresco representing Missak Manouchian in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. AFP - MIGUEL MEDINA
Presence of the far right
With Missak Manouchian and his wife Mélinée, it is also the 23 fighters from his resistance group, shot with him at Mont-Valérien, who enter the Pantheon in a symbolic way. They were of various nationalities and religions. Honoring them is, for the President of the Republic, a reminder “
that being French is not about origin, but about will
”.
A barely hidden message to the far right because the presence of
Marine Le Pen
, invited as head of the National Rally group to the Assembly as during previous national tributes, is controversial. It is even “
unacceptable
” and “
unbearable
”, deplore the committee supporting the pantheonization of Missak Manouchian and the families, who accuse the National Front, of which the RN is the heir, of having been founded by “
Nazis and collaborationists
.”
Emmanuel Macron
also took a position, estimating that "
the far-right forces would be inspired not to be present given the nature of Manouchian's fight
", that is to say the "
communist and foreign resistance
" to which France pays tribute today.
Also read: Missak and Mélinée Manouchian at the Pantheon: they are “freedom fighters who are honored”
“Three years of work coming to fruition
”
Despite this debate, this pantheonization is “
a feeling of joy, since it is a work of three years which is successful
”, testifies Jean-Pierre Sakoun, the president of Unité Laïque. A few years ago, a previous attempt to bring Manouchian and his fellow foreign resistance fighters into the Pantheon was inconclusive. “
In 2014, the initiative at the time proposed entry into the Pantheon of the 23 executed on February 21 at Mont-Valérien. I always thought that this was one of the reasons for the failure of this initiative because the Pantheon is not a cemetery, it is a symbolic place. It was necessary to recognize
the Armenianness of Missak Manouchian but not to make it an essential element of her entry into the Pantheon. Missak Manouchian does not enter the Pantheon because he is Armenian but for what he did for France
,” he adds.
“
It was necessary for these resistance fighters, foreigners, communists, workers, shot at Mont-Valérien - four categories which until now were not present in the Pantheon - to come and join their comrades in arms and their companions in pain so that the The nation's tribute to those to whom we owe our freedom is complete
,” he concludes.
Some 2,000 people were invited to the ceremony, including Communist Party officials, Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian
and many representatives of the Armenian community as well as 600 students. Scheduled to last more than two hours, the ceremony will include numerous flashbacks in images and songs on the life of Missak Manouchian and “
an innovative scenography
” representing the members of the Manouchian group. “
It will be a way of bringing them together before entering the building
,”
explained the Élysée. Missak's last letter to Mélinée will be read and the song
l'Affiche rouge
, by Louis Aragon and Léo Ferré, written in 1961 in tribute to the martyrs of the Resistance, will also be performed, before the speech by the President of the Republic.
Before the entry into the Pantheon of Missak and Mélinée Manouchian as well as the 23 comrades-in-arms of the stateless poet, a tribute ceremony took place Tuesday at Mont-Valérien, near Paris, where a vigil was organized in the presence of the coffin of Missak Manouchian.
By Baptiste Coulon
A tricolor flag wraps the coffin of Missak Manouchian as she enters the Mont-Valérien clearing. This same clearing, where he and his comrades in arms were executed, 80 years ago. Lucas, in CM2, doesn't miss anything of the tribute to this resistance fighter discovered very recently: “
I watched a video about him. I know that he was shot here, at Mont-Valérien, by the Germans, because of what he did for France
.”
At his side, Delphine, his mother honors the man: “
He is someone who fought for us to be free
.” For this middle school Spanish teacher, being there with family is important. “
Young and old alike, it’s important that we are all here today. These are the future adults that we train and educate there. So, it seems very important to me that there is this duty of memory to commemorate this commitment he had for France
,” she believes.
At Mont-Valérien these last words of the resistance fighter to his wife resonate: “
My dear Mélinée, in a few hours, I will no longer be in this world. We are going to be shot this afternoon at 3 p.m
..” Words written in a farewell letter addressed to his wife. “
I found it magnificent
,” responded Éliane, a communist activist. She listens attentively and sees in Manouchian's entry into the Pantheon a resonance with current events: "
In a period where we are trying to kick people out of France anyway, it's a very strong message for to show what these foreign resistance fighters were able to bring, and that is entirely beneficial
.” And even if this recognition comes 80 years later, she says, it is better late than never.
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