On the eve of a new day of mobilization against the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron celebrated, Monday, June 5 at the end of the afternoon, at Mont-Saint-Michel, symbol of “the French spirit” of “resilience and of “resistance”, the millennium of the foundation of his abbey.
“At a time when we fear seeing our sensitive and carnally loved landscapes disappear, the Mount is proof that nothing is impossible if we adapt our use of the world to changing elements”, assured the Head of State during his speech.
The silhouette of the abbey, between land and sea, “is there to signify that our country has every reason to hope once again to find the balance between our art of being French and the constraints of our time”, has continued the president.
“We will continue our work of builders as we have done [by braving the] peril of the sea and in full mastery of the earth, fire and air, and so we will face climate change by facing the hardship by ambition and hard work,” he added.
On site, Emmanuel Macron was also to visit the exhibition “The Residence of the Archangel”, which retraces through around thirty objects the history of this jewel of French heritage.
More places of worship as historical monuments
In a press release, the president also announced on Monday a campaign to classify more religious buildings in France from the 19th and 20th centuries as historical monuments, in order to facilitate their preservation, with the possible launch of a financial subscription to the French to restore this “modest religious heritage”.
Of some 50,000 places of worship in France, including 42,000 Catholics, only 10,500 are protected as historical monuments, a label which opens access to aid from the Ministry of Culture, the statement said.
The president will ask his ministers of culture and the interior to present to him before the European Heritage Days of September 16 and 17 a “clearer” inventory of the situation of these buildings, specified an adviser.
Memorial itinerary
Continuing a memorial itinerary started on May 8 with a tribute to Jean Moulin in Lyon, Emmanuel Macron will also launch preparations on Tuesday for the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings of June 6, 1944, which will take place in 2024.
He will travel to Colleville-Montgomery, in Calvados, to the landing sites, to attend not the traditional June 6 ceremonies, planned for Ver-sur-Mer and chaired by the Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, but at the annual commemoration of the School of Marines.
Mr. Macron will present – with Léon Gautier, 100 years old, the last living Frenchman to have participated in the landing – the green berets to the students who have successfully completed their commando course. His presence is a tribute to the 177 French who landed on June 6, 1944, grouped within the Kieffer commando, alongside the 132,000 allies.
Above all, the Head of State will officially set up the public interest group which will be responsible for preparing the major commemorations planned for the 80th anniversary.
The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, elected from Calvados, will also be present in Colleville, the opportunity for the two heads of the executive to appear together after the reframing of Emmanuel Macron to the head of government last week on the strategy to adopt in the face of the National Rally.
