The speech of course ended with the very traditional “
Vive la République
”.
But this institutional reminder did not prevent Emmanuel Macron, for twenty minutes, from paying a vibrant tribute to the Emperor Napoleon I.
Present under the dome of the Institut de France to commemorate the bicentenary of Bonaparte's death on Wednesday, the Head of State praised “
the genius
” of a man who “
is a part of us
”.
A way of responding firmly to the criticisms that have been expressed, in particular within the political and associative left, to encourage him to give up this ceremony.
To discover
Discover our file on Napoleon's bicentenary
Read also:
Napoleon: a controversial figure in the political class
Defender of "
the fight against ignorance (and) the love of knowledge and history
", the tenant of the Élysée reaffirmed his "
will to give nothing to those who intend to erase the past on the grounds that" it does not correspond to the idea they have of the present
”. Speaking directly to the few high school students who had been invited to participate in this day, he recalled the "
masterpieces of architecture and town planning, and all the references
" that the capital owed to the native of Corsica: "
The Arc de Triomphe, the Church of the Madeleine, the Vendôme column [...] the Austerlitz or Iéna bridge, the rue de Rivoli ...
»Bequests and heritage to which others are added , among which the baccalaureate, "
the very institution of the lycée, the form of university, [...] the reform of the École Polytechnique, [...] Saint-Cyr, [...] the prefects, the mayors
”, the Civil Code , the Penal Code, the Council of State or the Court of Cassation ... "
Very few destinies, it must be said, have shaped so many lives
", finally summed up the president.
"The taste of the possible"
He then gave his speech much more political accents. And maybe even a little personal. “
Napoleon's life is first and foremost an ode to political will, to those who judge fixed destinies, lives written in advance. The journey of the child from Ajaccio, who became master of Europe, clearly shows that a man can change the course of history,
”he was enthusiastic about. Even if it means giving the feeling of resuscitating, in doing so, some of its strong campaign themes, such as “
individual emancipation
” or the “
fight against house arrest
”. "
We love Napoleon because his life has a taste for the possible, because it is an invitation to take his risk, to trust the imagination, to be fully oneself
”, he continued, paraphrasing outright this time. one of his favorite expressions.
Read also:
Napoleon: a bicentenary under close surveillance
Aware of the controversy that surrounded his participation in this day of May 5, Emmanuel Macron nevertheless wanted to return to what the historian Jean Tulard modestly called "
the black legend
", in opposition to the "
golden legend
" of the 'Emperor. And what he himself defined as a “
chiaroscuro
”
journey
. Starting with the reestablishment of slavery decided in 1802, a “
mistake
” and a “
betrayal of the spirit of the Enlightenment
” that the Republic repaired. Ditto with "
the value of human life
", which Napoleon did little to do, and which France has "
since then placed above everything, whether in wars or in pandemics.
".
As during the Covid-19 crisis, which tore more than 105,000 citizens from life, and which encouraged “
whatever the cost
”.
Turning again to the students in front of him, Emmanuel Macron concluded his intervention by reminding them that they were "
neither responsible nor guardians
" of this story, but that they "
subscribed
" to it.
And that they
"could love it as well as criticize it"
, provided they mastered it.
“You
still have to learn it, know it.
But it is there.
It builds you, viatics, to face this century.
[...] Undoubtedly, it continues to forge us
”.
An incentive to exalt it rather than "
deconstruct
" it, therefore.
