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PLUMELEC, France.- The ceremonies in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Normandy’s landing They started this Wednesday with tributes in France and Great Britainwhich involved a speech by the French presidentEmmanuel Macronand a pronouncement from the king Charles IIIon the first day of celebrations that will last three days and They will have the participation of their peers from the United States and Ukraine, among others, but the absence of Russia.
The main ceremony is scheduled on Thursday, the day of the 80th anniversary, on the beach known under the code name of Omaha, in the presence of several international leaders, including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky; the American president, Joe Biden; the german chancellor, Olaf Scholzand the Italian head of state, Sergio Mattarella.
The Breton town of Plumelec, in western France, opened the ceremonies this Wednesday with a first tribute to the resisters and paratroopers of Free France within the British special forces.
“Our country has a bold and brave youth, willing to the same spirit of sacrifice as their elders.”“Macron declared before the elite units represented, warning of a current context in which “the dangers increase” in Europe.
“As the dangers increase […], They remind us that we are willing to make the same sacrifices to defend what we love most: our land of France and our republican values,” added the president.
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, a force of 156,000 soldiers and 20,000 vehicles reached the beaches of Normandy.where the Nazis, who under the orders of Adolf Hitler They occupied Western Europe, they were not expected.
Organized in the greatest secrecy by the Americans, the British and the French resistance, the June 6 landings in Normandy accelerated the end of World War II in 1945, with Nazi Germany trapped between two fronts: the Atlantic, in the west, and the Soviet Union, in the east.
“The first French soldier” who participated in the landing died in PlumelecCorporal Emile Bouétard, Macron recalled.
“He was one of my friends”added Achille Muller, the last survivor of the French paratroopers who participated in the operation.
The most illustrious guests of the ceremonies are the ex-combatants, since, due to their advanced age, it could become the last major anniversary in which they will be able to participate. Dozens of veterans have already arrived from the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
Biden He arrived in Paris this Wednesday and will participate on Thursday in the ceremonies planned on the Norman beaches, together with Macron, King Charles III and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
The North American president will pay tribute in his speeches on the beaches known under the code names of Utah and Omaha to the “73,000 brave Americans” who landed to “open the way for the liberation of France and Europe,” indicated the White House.
Despite the high price that the Soviet Union paid in the final victory (27 million civilian and military deaths), Putin was not invited, unlike 10 years agofor its invasion launched in Ukraine in 2022.
Macron, for whom Russian invasion represents an existential threat to Europehopes that the commemoration of the allied landing will also serve to express the support of the Western powers for Ukraine.
During his trip to France, Zelensky plans to discuss his country’s needs in the war with both Biden and Macron. Ukraine will also be a topic of discussion during the US president’s state visit on Saturday in Paris.
”When war has returned to the continent 80 years after the liberation of Europe,” Macron and Biden “will discuss the unwavering and long-term support that must be given to Ukraine,” according to the French presidency.
For its part, Charles IIIwho continues treatment for cancer, attended and gave an emotional speech on Wednesday in Portsmouth, southern England.
The monarch, 75 years old and who resumed his public commitments at the end of April after the announcement of his cancer, attended with his wife and queen consort, Stretcher.
“As we thank those who gave so much to achieve the victory we enjoy today, let us recommit ourselves to remembering and honoring them” the king told a crowd waving thousands of small British flags.
“Eight decades later, it is almost impossible to imagine the emotions that were felt that day, the pride of being part of such a great mission, the anguish of not being up to the task and the fear that that day would be the last”he added.
Veteran Roy Hayward, who was 19 during Operation Overlord, said in a moving speech that he always considered himself “one of the lucky ones who survived.”
This former British soldier, who had his legs amputated during the war, wanted “honor the memory” of men and women who “put their lives in danger to go fight for democracy and for this country.”
Charles III, commander-in-chief of the UK Army who has served in the navy and air force, will travel to France to attend a ceremony at the British memorial at Ver-sur-Sea in Normandy on Thursday.
This trip will be the sovereign’s first visit abroad since the announcement of his cancer.
The first Minister Rishi Sunak, Crown Prince William and British war veterans will take part in the international D-Day commemoration on Omaha Beach.
Prince William read at the Portsmouth ceremony a letter written by a former soldier to his wife on D-Day, who managed to survive the war and return safely home to her family. But “many others never returned,” lamented the heir to the throne. “Today we remember the bravery of those who liberated Europe.”
The tributes are being held this year days before the elections to the European Parliament, which in France, where polls predict a strong setback for Macron, will take place on Sunday.
Agencies AFP, AP and Reuters
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