The Region pays tribute to Suzanne Lefort-Rouquette

During this commemorative ceremony, François de Canson represented Renaud Muselier, president of the Région, alongside Nicolas Rougier, principal of the Lycée, and Hugues Lefort, grandson of Suzanne Lefort – Rouquette and chief physician.

On this occasion, the dignitaries unveiled the entrance plaque with the new name of the establishment and paid her a vibrant tribute. This initiative is part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Débarquement de Provence. The Région Sud has made the duty of remembrance a priority by changing the names of six high schools in the regional territory to recall the central role played by Provence in the history of the Libération. For François de Canson: "this gesture draws for each student a horizon line made of freedom and resilience."

ACT OF REMEMBRANCE

In front of the students, their teachers, numerous senior officers, the grandsons of Suzanne Lefort - Rouquette, Hugues and Jacques Lefort, as well as several municipal elected officials, the mayor of La Londe-les-Maures emphasized the symbolic significance of the naming: "Today, this high school inscribes in its name a promise, an example, a landmark. A transmission, a breath, an act of living memory." Born in 1916, Suzanne Lefort enlisted in 1943 in the 27ème régiment du Train. Having become a lieutenant, she led the 25ème bataillon médical of the 9ème DIC, two hundred ambulance drivers, including thirty young women barely of age. On August 20, 1944, she landed in an ambulance under fire on the plage de la Nartelle. Wounded, taken prisoner, and then amputated, this nurse and soldier entered the Libération "not by weapons, but by care." Her motto, Franchise et vaillance, would remain her banner until the end of her life. "A high school is not just an educational building; it is a house of the République, a place where one learns to be free, to discern, to doubt, to understand the world. By inscribing the name of Suzanne Lefort-Rouquette, the Région wants to trace a horizon line for each high school student and anchor the establishment in the VALEURS (Vision, Autorité, Liberté, Europe, Respect, Souveraineté) plan," added François de Canson.

COURAGE HAS NO GENDER

"In this tumult where certainties waver, we need figures. Lighthouses. Voices. We need people like Suzanne Lefort-Rouquette. She proves, once and for all, that courage has no gender and that greatness belongs to no uniform," continued François de Canson in his tribute, restoring the place of women in the history of the Libération. At the dawn of the 80th anniversary of the Libération, he offered a viaticum to the youth: "This is not a page turned. It is a call: to remain vigilant, to remain free, to remain standing. The high school's new plaque seals this vocation. For, even in the darkest night, there are women, fighters, guides, who light up stars. And Suzanne was one of them." The light that Suzanne Lefort-Rouquette lit and embodied does not only illuminate the past. It reveals an inner course within each of us. In the night of uncertainty, may this lighthouse remind us, today as tomorrow, that freedom is chosen, lived, and shared. Thus our humanity, inside as well as outside, everywhere and always, will move towards more dignity and courage. Finally, Isabelle Lefort, who passed away on February 17, was associated with this tribute. •

IN THE PRESENCE OF:

Geneviève LEVY, deputy mayor of Toulon, former deputy of the Var, Thierry ALBERTINI, vice-president of the Département, mayor of La Valette-du-Var, Josy CHAMBON, regional councillor, Caroline DEPALLENS, departmental councillor, Thierry CAMPUS, municipal councillor of Toulon, Mathieu SIEYE, academy inspector, academic director of national education services of the Var, representing Natacha CHICOT, rector of the académie de Nice, Generals DANGEARD and GUIGNON, Colonels FALLAS and GIRAUD, municipal councillors, Jacques LEFORT, grandson of Suzanne

LEFORT - ROUQUETTE,

Vincent DUJARRIC de LAGARDE, Délégué Général of the Souvenir Français of the Var, Yves BOYER, president of the Souvenir Français of La Londe-les-Maures, veterans' associations, flag-bearers, teachers, students.