The funeral of Dominique Bernard, the professor murdered during the Arras attack, organized this Thursday, October 19, has a considerable symbolic dimension. They combine intimacy and national homage.
A final tribute is paid to Dominique Bernard, the French teacher murdered during the attack in Arras. The teacher’s funeral is celebrated this Thursday, October 19, at Arras Cathedral by Bishop Olivier Leborgne. After the funeral convoy passed through Heroes’ Square, the family and loved ones of the deceased entered the cathedral for a final goodbye. The ceremony, which is to last 1h30, is held in the privacy of Dominique Bernard’s loved ones, but the family of the deceased “very touched by the thousands of signs of support” agreed that the ceremony be broadcast on a giant screen installed at the foot of the belfry. of Arras, on the Place des Héros.
A place whose name echoes the gesture of the French teacher who intervened against the attacker of Arras, yet the term “hero” now attached to the name of Dominique Bernard bothers the family. However, this is how many residents of Arras, notably the educational community and students of the Gambetta-Carnot high school, where he taught, say they remember him in the media.
Follow the funeral of Dominique Bernard
A national tribute to Dominique Bernard
The memory left by Dominique Bernard is also national. The French teacher was posthumously made a knight of the Legion of Honor. The announcement was made Thursday morning before the funeral and Emmanuel Macron will himself award the decoration. The President of the Republic and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are present at the funeral to represent the nation but no speeches are planned. The head of state should, however, speak with the family in private. The Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, is also present.
Wishing to bury the teacher in strict privacy in the cemetery of the town of Berneville, where he resided, the family of Dominique Bernard also wanted an intimate and religious ceremony. But those close to teachers “are entirely aware that three things must be articulated: family intimacy, the disrupted educational world and the nation which feels concerned” said Bishop Olivier Leborgne. And the man of the Church added: “They are ready for it. I will speak about hope, the necessary commitment to justice and peace.”
Students present and a former “friend” of the attacker
The Gambetta-Carnot high school in Arras closed its doors exceptionally this Thursday, with many teachers and students from the establishment affected by the attack wishing to attend the funeral of their teacher and colleague. 20 minutes also reports that among those present at the funeral is a young 20-year-old student, called Tristan, who claims to have been “once a friend” of the attacker Mohammed Mogouchko, who was in his class in second grade. “It seems important to me to go there, because it concerns the school campus in which I studied for nine years of my life” and “to honor the memory of Mr. Bernard,” said the young man.