Were the ceremonies which have just marked the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy more political than usual?
The answer is yes. Certainly, the memory of the tens of thousands of fighters who participated in the Landings has been widely honored. The determination of democratic nations, UNITED STATES And RUnited Kingdom in the lead, too.
But, in the speeches of the French and American presidents, current geopolitical tensions were very present. It is Joe Biden which speaks of the fight of freedom against tyranny, of the invasion ofUkraine by a tyrant, from the preeminent role of NATO, “ more united than ever to defend peace and freedom in the world », Emmanuel Macron who evokes the just fight against deadly ideologies.
Strong symbols to mark the geopolitical situation
One of the symbols of this ceremony of remembrance overtaken by the torments of the present, was first of all the absence of any Russian delegation, unlike what happened in 2014, when Vladimir Putin was invited even though he had just annexed Crimea.
And as a counterpoint, the invitation to Normandy from the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, much applauded. The role of the Red Army on the eastern front in defeating Nazism in 1944 was nevertheless mentioned by the French head of state. As if to pay tribute to the Russian people, and not to their leaders, Stalin yesterday, and Putin today.
A meeting of the Western camp?
Indeed, with the certainty that peace and freedom are never acquired, that we sometimes have to fight to preserve them. Joe Biden was very clear. Pointing to the white crosses of the Colville cemetery, he said: “ Peace is not free “. A way for him to emphasize that the mobilization in favor of Ukraine must not weaken. And Biden then estimated that “ isolationism is not the solution », way of criticizing the Republican camp and in particular its opponent in the presidential election Donald Trump.
Eighty years after the D-Day landings, Europe is once again faced with war. And to a fight which once again pits a dictatorial country against nations that are certainly imperfect, but determined to defend their freedom and their democratic model. As if, unfortunately, the lessons of History are gradually being erased.