A galloping pandemic, unprecedented nomination.
Joe Biden's induction ceremony, January 20, 2021, will be very special, under high security and without an audience.
A first since George Washington in 1789.
Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States, is the 29th President whose
inauguration
Le Figaro has been
following since the newspaper became a daily in 1866. Not all "inauguration" ceremonies have filled its columns or been followed with the same interest.
A few lines from a dispatch for Ulysses S. Grant in 1869, not much more for the following.
Interest grew during the 20th century until it reached the 20 special pages in 2009 for the arrival of Barack Obama, the first African-American president, at the White House.
Le Figaro
delves into its archives and offers you a selection of the first significant investiture ceremonies.
First, that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose New Deal to get the country out of the Great Depression, could inspire Joe Biden.
Read also: Washington converted into an entrenched camp
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the hour is serious
Herbert Hoover had taken over the country in January 1929 a few months before the famous crash.
During his inauguration,
Le Figaro
was wary of this “
Quaker
”, this “
big man with a small mouth
”, whose displayed austerity left little doubt about a lifting of prohibition.
All Washington already, regrets the thirsty French journalist, deprives himself of drinking to please him.
This great nation will suffer as it has already suffered.
It will live again and it will prosper.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt March 4, 1933
The induction of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt is quite different as the United States goes through an unprecedented crisis and a quarter of the working population is unemployed.
The ceremony takes place on March 4th as tradition dictates.
It will be the last time.
The modernization of the means of transport reducing the delays in organizing the presidential election, the date of the enthronement will be reduced to January 20 for the following ones.
The investiture of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Le Figaro of March 5, 1933 Le Figaro
While on the front page of
Le Figaro
, the parliamentary elections to the Reichstag bring Hitler to power, America, stricken by poverty, listens to its new president, who promises him a "
New Deal
".
After taking the oath, he turns "
to the seventy-five microphones which will carry his words across America and to the confines of the entire universe,
" says
Le Figaro
.
He sends the people the following message: "Now
is the time or never to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly."
And we must not hesitate to face, sincerely, the current situation in our country.
This great nation will suffer as it has already suffered.
It will live again and it will prosper.
"
Eisenhower, joyful parade and lasso
The mood was much lighter on January 20, 1953, during the enthronement of General Dwight "known
as Ike
" Eisenhower, commander of the allied forces in Europe and chief ordering officer of the landing.
The fog has cleared quickly, the sun is mild and Washington is even experiencing a new dance, reports a dispatch.
The "
Ike hike
", imitating the gesture of the two arms of the new president when he answers a standing ovation.
The top hats have been put away and everyone is snapping up the presidential headgear, the “
rolled-edge
E
den
” called “
homburg
”.
The ritual of the parade in force since 1809 takes on a new dimension as 25,000 people are massed on the course.
One has the impression that the automobiles themselves are marching in quick succession.
Nicolas Châtelain in Le Figaro on January 21, 1953
"
The crowd cheers madly,"
says the Washington correspondent of
Le Figaro
, Nicolas Châtelain
.
The parade is punctuated over more than three kilometers by 65 orchestras.
One has the impression that the automobiles themselves are marching in quick succession.
"
The president then attends a
motley
“
endless procession
” where an unprecedented variety of uniforms is presented.
The highlight of the show is a cowboy, who after asking permission, grabs the head of state with a lasso.
"
Secret service people frown
."
Finally after the tanks, appearance of "
Miss Burma
", an elephant "
in a frenzied mood
" which parades "
the trunk in spin
".
At nightfall, the tanks which represent episodes from Eisenhower's life "
parade under the oblique lighting of the searchlights
."
John F. Kennedy, black coat on snowstorm
“
We had not seen such a thing since March 4, 1909, the day when President Taft was 'inaugurated' in the middle of a snowstorm,
” reports Nicolas Châtelain.
The day before January 20, 1961, the day of the inauguration of the lively young Democrat John Fitzgerald Kennedy, an icy wind and a snowstorm had hit the entire eastern region of the country.
"
The situation quickly turned to disaster
", narrates the journalist.
Dignitaries and their visiting wives are stranded in their cars.
Even Kennedy accompanied by former President Truman is in trouble with his "
car skidding in Georgetown
".
When the aerodrome is put out of service, preventing the movement of delegations and certain orchestras, "
a breath of panic
" crosses the organizers.
There is 25 centimeters of snow on the stands.
At midnight the army is called in to clear the land.
In the early morning, the storm stops and the sun begins to shine in the snowy sky.
After a snowstorm, President Kennedy was invested in freezing cold, tells Le Figaro of January 21, 1961. Le Figaro
Kennedy, "
in the upper middle class
", as Châtelain emphasizes, little to do with this new president, revives the tradition of ceremonial dress that had not been seen since January 1949 and the investiture of Truman.
The latter, "
tough and resentful
", relishes the joys of the Democrats' revenge.
During the speech of Cardinal Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston who married the presidential couple, the lectern caught fire.
The smoke goes straight to Eisenhower and Kennedy's eyes.
"
Water is poured on the piece of furniture which smokes even more
".
Nobody dares to laugh and "
finally the thing goes out
".
Don't ask yourself what your country will do for you, ask yourself what you can do for your country.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy January 20, 1961
Kennedy delivered his speech "
in a better calm voice today, the flow slower and the tone less unpleasant
".
"
He took lessons in vocal technique,
" said the journalist.
His speech will be remembered nonetheless: “
So my dear American compatriots, don't ask yourself what your country will do for you, ask yourself what you can do for your country.
"
Jimmy Carter, a fan of walking
The enthronement of Jimmy Carter on January 20, 1977 is not reported in
Le Figaro
until two days later because of a strike by book workers.
We learn that Carter has decided to break the codes.
First in his swearing in where he uses his surname of Jimmy instead of James Earl Carter.
This is followed by the unusual tribute he pays to his Republican predecessor, Gerald Ford.
Unpublished, it records a special message sent to all nations ahead of the ceremony: "
The United States will live up to its obligation to promote a stable, just and peaceful world order."
We will not seek to dominate others or impose our will on them
”.
Jimmy Carter, with his wife and daughter, walks up Pennsylvania Avenue to crowd cheers on January 20, 1977. Heritage Images / Leemage
“
But what American opinion will retain first of this first day of President Carter,
tells the special envoy of Figaro Jacques Renard,
it is this long walk that he held to make from the Capitol to the White House in holding his wife Rosalyn by the hand, and sometimes that of their little daughter Amy who was having fun jumping over the white stripes painted on the pavement.
The symbol is clear to observers: "
Jimmy doesn't want to be an 'imperial president,' he wants to stay in touch with the people.
He is an American like the others and wants to put himself within their reach, he belongs to them, he is at their service.
"Faced with this gesture, the crowd is enthusiastic and applauds him along the two kilometers that he takes"
forty minutes to cover in the biting cold in the middle of his upset and worried bodyguards.
"
Ronald Reagan, freed hostages and Hollywood pomp
This January 20, 1981, America saw a double event.
The American diplomats hostage in Iran since November 4, 1979 are released at the moment of the handover between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, the new elected president.
The editorialist of
Le Figaro
, the very conservative Max Clos, is severe: “
After four years of failure, Mr. Carter came out of nowhere and returned to nothing.
History will not even have allowed him to succeed in his exit.
What a symbol!
It will be all the same Carter who will leave to welcome them on the American base near Frankfurt.
Read also: On November 4, 1979, the hostage-taking at the United States Embassy in Iran
For journalist Charles Lambroschini in Washington, Reagan seems to "
reconnect with the imperial presidency
".
And to point out "
the bill for the highest induction in history
": eight million dollars, or double that of Carter.
Costs, it is true, partly paid for by revenue.
In particular those of the show organized by Frank Sinatra.
But we can also count on the sale of commemorative medals and even "
pieces of wood sealed in a block of plastic and coming from the platform on which Reagan was sworn in
."
“
This is not an inauguration.
It’s a crowning
glory, ”an American commentator squeaks.
Ronald Reagan, Hollywood at the White House in Le Figaro from January 21, 1981. Le Figaro
Barack Obama, history and glamor
The induction of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009 is historic.
The 44th President of the United States is the first African American elected to the post.
“
The Mall is a human tide.
The Mall is a party.
The Mall, yesterday, writes the great history, through the singular adventures of millions of Americans and foreigners who have deemed it necessary to come from the four corners of the country and the world to commune with the first colored president in history of America,
”report journalists Laure Mandeville and Adèle Smith.
From today, we must stand up, shake up, and begin the work to rebuild America.
Barack Obama January 20, 2009
Le Figaro
does not reserve less than 20 special pages on January 20 for this event, and another 10 pages the next day.
Never seen.
With on the last page the portrait of the vice-president, Joe Biden, 65 years old at the time.
"
Gary Cooper elegance
" and "
disarming smile like James Stewart
", he is already Joe the beater or Joe the blunderer.
“
From today we must stand up, shake ourselves up and start the work to rebuild America,
” urges the new president who was sworn in on the Abraham Lincoln bible.
For the correspondent of
Le Figaro
, it is “
the hope of a post-racial era
” that animates America, but “
the gap remains deep between the communities
”.
20 special pages for the enthronement of Barack Obama in Le Figaro of January 20, 2009. Le Figaro
After the moment of history, make way for glamours.
Barack and Michelle Obama start a marathon of ten balls - still less than the 14 of the Clinton couple in 1997 - and offer the whole world fascinated the spectacle of a sensual slow on a song interpreted by Beyoncé.
Two million Americans flocked to witness this historic day.
A record that Donald Trump will not beat on January 20, 2017 although he says the opposite.
Then another story begins.
The one, who promised that day a hard fight, is leaving the White House today without welcoming his successor.
A first since 1869, when Andrew Johnson did not attend the enthronement of Ulysses S. Grant.