Emmanuel Macron commemorated the Victory of May 8, 1945 at the Arc de Triomphe

Emmanuel Macron commemorated, this Saturday at the end of the day, the 76th anniversary of the Victory of May 8, 1945 in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier in Paris, where he spoke at length with the high authorities of the army. The Head of State arrived by car, just got off the plane bringing him back from the European summit in Porto, Portugal, to lay a wreath in front of the statue of General de Gaulle at the bottom of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées , emptied of all public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A cornflower in the buttonhole, the President of the Republic exchanged a few words with the grandson of the general, Yves de Gaulle, before getting back in his car to join the Arc de Triomphe.

Long conversation with those in charge of the armed forces

There he met the head of government, Jean Castex, the presidents of the Senate and the Assembly, the minister of the armed forces Florence Parly, the two former presidents of the Republic Nicols Sarkozy and François Hollande, as well as the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. The Head of State then had a long conversation in front of the cameras with the chiefs of staff of the armed forces, at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe.

These images seem to mark a message of unity from the head of state, head of the armed forces, with all the highest officials of the army, a few days after the publication of a shocking column signed by the military. Current values had published on April 21 this forum in which “twenty generals, a hundred high-ranking officers and more than a thousand other soldiers”, called on President Emmanuel Macron to defend patriotism, and said they were “ready to support the policies which will take into consideration the safeguard of the nation ”.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces François Lecointre had announced that the 18 active soldiers identified as signatories of the platform would receive military disciplinary sanctions.