“To say the names of the victims is to look history squarely in the face (…) This is the meaning of the long-awaited memorial to the victims of slavery which will soon be erected, such is the commitment of the President of the Republic, I will work with the associations and the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery to ensure that this project succeeds,” said the Minister for Overseas France during a speech at the national tribute ceremony for the victims of the slavery. slavery in Saint-Denis, in the north of Paris.
According to the minister, for whom this was the first official trip, this monument will be “in the heart of the capital, a few steps from the place where the convention voted for the first abolition and from the Hôtel de la marine, the seat of the Ministry of the Colonies where Victor Schoelcher prepared the second”. The monument will list the names of known victims of trafficking brought together “thanks to the extraordinary work carried out by the associations for twenty years and coordinated by Professor Frédéric Régent”, explained Ms. Braun-Pivet.
National days of remembrance on May 10 and 23
“This monument will also show all French people the importance of keeping alive the memory of what we have too often forgotten, as the national days of commemoration of May 10 and 23 and those specific to each overseas territory in Mayotte invite us to do. , in Martinique, in Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, in Guyana in Saint-Barthélemy and in Reunion”, she added.
May 10 is the national day of memories of the slave trade, while May 23 is that of the national tribute to the victims of slavery. The days of commemoration differ on the overseas territories, due to their own historical circumstances or according to the date of arrival on the scene of the bearers of the decree abolishing slavery signed on April 27, 1848.