Emmanuel Macron goes to Mont-Saint-Michel on Monday, symbol of the “French spirit” of “resilience” and “resistance”, on the eve of a new day of union mobilization against the pension reform.
The Head of State is expected in the afternoon on the famous rocky islet of the Channel to celebrate the millennium of the foundation of his abbey. He will announce 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 from the French to restore this “modest religious heritage “.
Of some 50,000 places of worship (including 42,000 Catholics) in France, only 10,500 are protected as historical monuments, a label which opens access to aid from the Ministry of Culture, argued the Elysée.
On site, the president must visit the exhibition “The residence of the archangel”, which traces through thirty objects the history of this jewel of French heritage, and deliver a speech.
Will the Head of State make the link with political news, punctuated in recent weeks by the long pension crisis, while his popularity rating is rebounding after several months of strong mistrust?
Since François Mitterrand in 1983, presidents have flocked to this emblematic place to convey their message.
In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy chose to launch his presidential campaign there.
The “walls and the eternity of the Mount” embody, just like the forces which landed on June 6, 1944 in Normandy, “the notions of resistance and resilience”, underlines an adviser to Emmanuel Macron.
The silhouette of the abbey, between land and sea, symbolizes “everything that makes the French a people of conquerors and builders”, still notes the Elysée. “It is a place that attests to the ability of our people to adapt to the times” and which embodies the “fights that must and will have to be waged” in the face of climate change.
Mont Saint-Michel, faced with recurring problems of silting, has been the subject of gigantic works, completed in 2015, to allow it to become an island again.
Already in 1983, François Mitterrand had come there to say that man had to come to the aid of nature to repair what he himself had helped to destroy.
The busiest site in the country outside Ile-de-France, it attracted 2.8 million visitors last year, including 1.3 million for the abbey.
It will not be closed to visitors during the presidential visit, but the prefect of La Manche has set up a protective perimeter, with searches at the entrance, for the millennium commemorations.
The head of state is regularly greeted by concerts of pots during his travels since the enactment of the pension reform in mid-April.
And the executive will again face a day of mobilization on Tuesday, two days before the examination in Parliament of a bill to repeal the retirement age at 64.
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 Commando Kieffer, 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.
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 as head of government last week on the strategy. to be adopted against the National Rally.
05/06/2023 18:02:19 – Le Mont-Saint-Michel (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
