The intact memory of the Débarquement de Provence

In a speech, Mayor Philippe Leonelli recalled the strength of memory, the universality of freedom, and the duty of transmission. "There are dates that rekindle faith and open up to fervor." Right from the start, the tone was set: Cavalaire, "this small Mediterranean port," became in 1944 "the gateway to this regained freedom."

The mayor outlined, without emphasis, the scene of the dawn of August 15: the dark sea, the roar of engines, the trembling beach, and, in the distance, this promise that still transcends time: "Hold on, we are here, France is returning...".

WITNESS OF FREEDOM The evocation became more intimate when Philippe Leonelli quoted his father, Paulin, who landed on August 16: "When my boots touched the sand of Cavalaire, I understood that we carried in our hands the future of a people, the future of a Nation, the future of Europe, the future of the world." At the heart of the tribute, the unity of the combatants: Americans, British, Canadians, Free French, Senegalese tirailleurs, Moroccan goumiers, Algerians, Tunisians, Indochinese, soldiers from Equatorial Africa and the Pacific. "Their mixed blood wrote on our sand a simple, beautiful, very beautiful, clear truth: freedom has neither color nor border."

Gratitude extended to the resistance fighters in the shadows. The words of Marcel, "who was one of them," recall everyone's gratitude: "When I saw the first Allies running on the sand, I understood that the nightmare was finally ending. But I also understood that they were giving their lives so that ours could begin again and our homeland could regain its colors."

Le souvenir intact du Débarquement de Provence

LIVING AND SHARED MEMORY Finally, addressing the youth, the mayor passed the baton. Quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "We do not inherit freedom from our parents, we borrow it from our children." He recalled the responsibility that lies with everyone.

Then the appeal became direct: "Take this baton then. Carry it further than us. Never let it go."

To everyone, he recalled that this duty is lived in the present, in the service of the common good, to build together, in the union of generations, a world that carries high the colors of life. "Thank you for peace, ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for freedom, dear families, Thank you for the future, my dear children. We have received the baton.

We will never let it go."

Moving forward is not turning one's back on the past, it is living in it differently, not as a burden, but as a nightlight in the night of History. Peace is not imposed, it is woven, thread by thread, in the patience of the right gestures, of words that know how to listen, of looks that remain open. And if History has bequeathed us its wounds, let it also bequeath us its lesson: humanity gains nothing from waging war.

Enfin, s’adressant à la jeunesse, le maire a transmis le relais. Citant Antoine de Saint- Exupéry : « Nous n’héritons pas de la liberté de nos parents, nous l’empruntons à nos enfants », il a rappelé la responsabilité qui incombe à chacun. Puis l’appel est devenu direct : « Prenez donc ce témoin. Portez-le plus loin que nous. Ne le lâchez jamais ». À tous, il a rappelé que ce devoir se vit au présent, au service du bien commun, pour construire ensemble, dans l’union des générations, un monde qui porte haut les couleurs de la vie. « Merci pour la paix, mesdames, messieurs, Merci pour la liberté, chères familles, Merci pour l’avenir, mes chers enfants. Nous avons reçu le témoin. Nous ne le lâcherons jamais ». Avancer n’est pas tourner le dos au passé, c’est l’habiter autrement, non comme un fardeau, mais comme une veilleuse dans la nuit de l’Histoire. La paix ne s’impose pas, elle se tisse, fil après fil, dans la patience des gestes justes, des paroles qui savent écouter, des regards qui demeurent ouverts. Et si l’Histoire nous a légué ses blessures, qu’elle nous lègue aussi sa leçon : l’humanité ne gagne rien à se faire la guerre.