It is the site that the United States erected as a symbol of human sacrifice for the liberation of Europe.
On June 6, 1944, 225 rangers undertook the ascent of Pointe du Hoc, in the Cavaldos, and its 25 m high under German fire in detestable weather conditions.
Only 90 made it.
A large section of this cliff, a symbolic place of the Landings, collapsed on Friday.
"No one was injured in the landslide, which fell into the sea, and there is no risk to visitors," said the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an American public body, in a press release. who manages the site under a treaty dating from 1956.
Progressive erosion has caused part of the outcrop at Pointe du Hoc Ranger Memorial, overlooking the English Channel to collapse, falling into the sea.
No injuries, and no risk for visitors.
PHD will remain open to the public.
https://t.co/LWjKDuF6Js pic.twitter.com/paKHuurMdw
— ABMC (@usabmc) May 6, 2022
Under the sun, a hundred tourists were present this Friday and photographed the side of the cliff engulfed by the waves.
Pointe du Hoc welcomes nearly 500,000 visitors a year.
“We have known since 2011 that the cultural landscape of Pointe du Hoc is in danger because of the erosion of the cliffs,” said Scott Desjardins, superintendent of the Normandy American Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc, quoted in the press release. 'ABMC.
Read alsoOn the Pointe du Hoc, the old man and the grappling hook of D-Day
“We continue to study the situation to find ways to mitigate risk and preserve the site while continuing to tell the heroic story of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder and his men who scaled the cliffs the June 6, 1944 to help the success of the Allied landings in Normandy,” he adds.
The foot of the cliff had been reinforced
According to Régis Leymarie, Normandy Deputy Delegate of the Coastal Conservancy, which owns the site, this phenomenon was expected because “these cliffs have been eroding since their creation”.
“Twelve years ago, we had agreed with the Americans and the State services that the purpose of reinforcing the foot of the Pointe du Hoc cliff was to slow down erosion but in no way to Stop.
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"The site was no longer as it was in 1944", observes Régis.
Leymarie.
"We are on a symbol of what many coasts in Normandy and elsewhere are experiencing with an acceleration of the phenomenon of erosion", he explained.
