" Endless gratitude " and " eternal gratitude ". It was with these strong words, spoken from Carlton Gardens, that Emmanuel Macron paid a vibrant tribute to the city of London on Thursday afternoon. Came to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the June 18 appeal across the Channel, the president took the opportunity to award, " quite exceptionally ", the Cross of the Legion of Honor to the British capital. A decoration decided in the name of the Nation, to thank this " land of asylum " and this " land of exile ", where " de Gaulle became the voice and the breath of free France " in 1940. " The United Kingdom (he) has (then) handed his first weapon: a BBC microphone", He stressed.
Read also: "The call of June 18 is also the announcement of a regeneration of the Republic"
Helped and welcomed at the time by the "Old Lion" Winston Churchill, the one who was not yet "the Grand Charles" indeed benefited from local airwaves to " form the first ranks of his army " and " call the French to the Resistance ”. " With him, as an exile, he had taken one thing: the French spirit, " said the head of state, welcoming the memory of this " legitimate emissary of France and ambassador of his true values ". " The British monarchy then became the refuge of the French Republic, " concluded Emmanuel Macron, according to whom " the United Kingdom allowed (...) the spirit of the French Republic to never die out ".
Commemoration of the June 18 appeal: Macron in London with Prince Charles - Watch on Figaro Live
Delivered under the attentive gaze of London mayor Sadiq Khan, Emmanuel Macron's speech was greatly appreciated by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Charles and Camilla, who replied in French in the text.
A few minutes earlier, the princely couple had received the president in their Clarence House residence: the opportunity for the head of state to offer them several gifts - including the General's Memoirs - but also to show them their attachment to Franco-British relations. And this despite the difficulties linked to the news of Brexit, which he indirectly mentioned during his speech.
Read also: June 18, 1940: an appeal against renunciation
Witness the passionate conversation he had in Downing Street with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, author of a remarkable biography of Winston Churchill. As well as the warm telephone discussion he shared, for the first time in his mandate, with Queen Elizabeth at the end of the day. Proof that this first trip of Emmanuel Macron abroad since the coronavirus crisis had a particular symbolic dimension.
"I have embers in my hands"
The Head of State returned privately to the visit of Marine Le Pen to the Isle of Sein, who had seen a large number of sailors reach London in June 1940. " From where I am, I am the guarantor of the country's unity and a spirit of harmony. The spirit of harmony is that everyone, too, knows how to find, precisely, their right place in what is their own story, that of the values that we carry ... And I think that sometimes we must avoid provocations if we wants to allow peaceful celebrations. "
Read also: Chahuté during her visit to the island of Sein, Marine Le Pen questions “the LREM State”
Already on Thursday morning, the President of the Republic was quickly thrown into the solemnity and gravity of the moment he was preparing to celebrate. At the Invalides, the Head of State spoke to Hubert Germain, one of the last four living Companions. Installed in a room in the Museum of the Order of the Liberation, where two Charles de Gaulle outfits had been arranged, the resistance fighter offered Emmanuel Macron a manuscript of Charles de Gaulle's "Appel à tous les Français". True memory of the Second World War, he then shared with him his memories - still intact - of the time. “ We will make sure that each young person knows what he owes you. I have embers in my hands, "promised Emmanuel Macron, before leaving him.
The President of the Republic then went to Mont-Valérien (Hauts-de-Seine), for the traditional military ceremony. On the spot, he was accompanied by former Head of State Nicolas Sarkozy, LR and LREM presidents of the Senate and the Assembly, Gérard Larcher and Richard Ferrand, as well as Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. An illustration of the famous "spirit of the Republic".
