Today is the day the French call simply “le 8 Mai” (the 8th of
May) -- in remembrance of the day which ended the European part of World War
II. This has always been an ambiguous commemoration. World War I stopped
abruptly on November 11th 1918 but World War II had many endings. D-Day
was June 6th 1944. Paris was liberated two months later. Hitler committed
suicide on April 30th 1945 after which German forces in Denmark and the
Netherlands surrendered on May 4th. The two page document signed in Reims on
May 7th 1945 stated that hostilities would cease on May 8th.
Stalin wanted his own ceremony in Berlin after that so for the Russians May 9th
is the official end of the War.
France was clear that the war ended on May 8th but ambiguous over
how to mark the occasion. On the first anniversary, the government decided to
observe the day on the Sunday after May 8th so as not to inhibit reconstruction
efforts. In 1951, veterans groups succeeded in having May 8th
declared a public holiday. Seven years later, Charles de Gaulle became
president, cancelled the holiday and decreed that the commemoration should again
take place on the Sunday after May 8th. In 1965, the 20th
anniversary of the end of the war, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou declared a
holiday for that year only. Ten years later, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing
decided that in the interests of Franco-German friendship, the day should no
longer even be commemorated. When François Mittérand became president in 1981,
he reinstituted both the public holiday and the commemoration of the end of
World War II. This has remained true ever since.
Different communities have short ceremonies involving the laying
of wreaths and the singing of le Chant des partisans -- a song written in 1943 in
England by a Russian woman. Soon translated, it was adopted by the French
resistants as their own. These ceremonies are, alas, attended by dwindling crowds.
Often, I watch the Paris ceremony on TV. This year, I decided to
participate and experienced another ambiguity. Crowd control and security
measures have rendered the notion of a community coming together to remember all
but impossible. The ceremony is attended by a few invited guests and hardy
souls willing to stake out a spot before barriers and police block further
access.
I am in neither category
. So today, I saw proof
that a major TV station was doing its job.
I saw journalists from another TV station looking for people to
interview.
Had I stayed at home, I could have seen François Hollande greeting
Charles de Gaulle’s grandson before laying a wreath at the foot of the great
man’s statue at one end of the Champs Elysées.
I could also have seen him
greet other important people at the Arc de Triomphe before relighting the
eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Instead I saw the gathering of the Garde Républicaine near the
Place de la Concorde.
I was impressed at the rapid cleanup of what horses leave behind
and enjoyed a view that they never show on television.
After a long walk and conversations with a number of friendly
policemen and women as I tried to find an unblocked path forward, I finally did
get to see the lonely wreath at the foot of de Gaulle’s statue after the
ceremonial party had departed.
I continued up the Champs Elysées almost alone, greeting various
policemen whose main task at that time was explaining to dazed tourists how and
when they would be able to cross the street.
There
were more people near the Arc de Triomphe. After having my purse and bag
searched, I was able to join them to wait for the ceremony to end. We could
faintly hear music but mostly saw pigeons enjoying their freedom and snacking
on what the scrubbing trucks had apparently not cleared
Our wait was not in vain. We did at last see the president.
Almost.
.