Four months to the day after the Hamas attacks on Israel, a national tribute was paid on February 7 to the 42 French victims of these attacks. It takes place at Les Invalides, in Paris.
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The ceremony began with the entry of the portraits of the French victims into the immense paved courtyard of Les Invalides, to the sound of military drums. In total, 42 faces, carried by the Republican Guard, accompanied by the age and first name of the deceased. The Kaddish, a Jewish mourning prayer, re-musicated by French composer Maurice Ravel, resonated, adding gravity to the moment.
On the giant screen, the faces of the victims form a large mosaic facing the tent in which the guests gather. Nearly 1,000 people were invited to this ceremony, starting with the families of the 55 victims of the attacks of October 7, 2023. 55 French or Franco-Israeli, because there are the 42 victims, but also the families of the four hostages released, the six others injured, and finally the families of the French people still missing, numbering three presumed hostages according to the French authorities.
France has specially chartered a plane
It is therefore to all the victims that the French State pays tribute today. The families present at the tribute were also supported by France, which chartered a plane to allow them to attend this ceremony.
Many officials were also invited for the occasion. The representatives of the different religions: Yonathan Arfi, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif), the Archbishop of Paris as well.
The Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, was invited and could not be present for scheduling reasons. It was therefore the Israeli ambassador to France who represented the country.
“The greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”
French President Emmanuel Macron gave a twenty-minute speech. Firstly, he returned to the events of October 7. “ It was six o’clock and Hamas launched a massive and heinous attack by surprise, the largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century. “. Then, he spoke elliptically about the current situation in the Middle East in a balancing act: “ All lives are equal, invaluable in the eyes of Francesays the French president. The lives we honor today have fallen, victims of a terrorism that we fight in all its forms”. And the French president continues: “ We will never allow the spirit of revenge to flourish in this moment of mourning, nothing must ever divide us.”
The ceremony concluded with a minute of silence, the resumption of Kaddish played by the Republican Guard, and the Marseillaise. The portraits then left the Cour des Invalides. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, plans to speak with the families of the victims of October 7.
Read also :Releases of Hamas hostages: “Terrorism is targeting a collective through individuals”