All of Emmanuel Macron's advisers swear hand on their hearts.
Above all, we must not apply a political reading to the pantheonization of Josephine Baker.
Not easy.
Everything, in his career and his battles, echoes the debates that shake up the entry into the presidential campaign.
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Black American woman engaged in the fight against racism and discrimination, she chose France as her adopted country and joined the resistance. A symbol in several ways then. Of commitment, of reconciliation, of overcoming, of appeasement but also of freedom, equality and fraternity. In short, an emblem of the Republic at a time when it is tested by the migratory waves, Islamist terrorism and the rise of insecurity. In this dark landscape, here is the pantheonization of Josephine Baker like a glow.
It is therefore not easy to escape the political reading of the event, and even less when it is the President of the Republic himself who delivers it in his homage speech and from the first words.
"Joséphine Baker made the right choices at every turn in history, always distinguishing light from darkness
", he begins before reviewing the life of Josephine Baker, dwelling each time on the moments keys, those which earned him entry into the Pantheon.
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Her music hall number, when she arrived in Paris, "
which went beyond the French contradictions of the time (…) the spirit of enlightenment ridiculing colonialist prejudices
".
Her French naturalization too, a new nationality that she "
does not consider as a right but above all as a duty, a daily conquest
".
Its participation in the resistance above all, "
a fight for a free France, without calculation, without quest for glory, dedicated to our ideals
".
"Love, understanding and tolerance"
Her family also and her twelve adopted children, her rainbow family thanks to which she showed that
"the colors of skin, the origins, the religions could not only coexist but live in harmony"
.
For Emmanuel Macron,
"the most beautiful of universalisms"
.
And undoubtedly the image that the children of Josephine Baker wanted above all for the country to keep of her.
"I hope that his messages of tolerance and openness to others will be heard by the French
," confided one of his daughters, Marianne Zinzen, before the ceremony.
His Pantheon was: love, understanding and tolerance.
"
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So there you have it, to explain Emmanuel Macron's choice to bring Josephine Baker into the Pantheon, the tomb of the great men and women of the Republic.
The opportunity again for the President of the Republic to slip an allusion to the difficulties facing the country.
At the Pantheon, Joséphine Baker joined “
all those who loved France, who saw it stumble and continued to love it, who saw it on the ground and fought to straighten it out.
She comes here to remind us all, who are sometimes so stubborn in wanting to forget her, the elusive beauty of our collective destiny ”
.
“My grandfather often spoke to me about Josephine.
He liked her.
"
Yves de Gaulle, grandson of General de Gaulle
And for those who did not understand the message, the Minister in charge of Equality between Women and Men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities took care of providing the subtitles.
“The fact that the President of the Republic has decided to bring her into the Pantheon is a strong signal in our country in the grip of withdrawal
,” explained Elisabeth Moreno.
More than any other, it embodies our plural France, this France in love with freedom which is not afraid of interbreeding and openness to others
.
"
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More than two thousand people attended the ceremony including singers, actors, dancers, comedians, soldiers, politicians, associative representatives, children… There was also General de Gaulle's grandson who, at the end of the ceremony , congratulated the Head of State.
“Very nice speech
, assured him Yves de Gaulle aside.
My grandfather often spoke to me about Josephine. He liked her. "
Emmanuel Macron wanted a popular ceremony, it was.
More than a thousand people gathered along rue Soufflot to see the cenotaph go up towards the Pantheon, despite the freezing and humid cold of November.
A solemn and moving ceremony, spectacular also when the facade of the Pantheon came to life and transformed into a screen to display photos and videos of the life of Joséphine Baker.
A ceremony that resonated in the United States where the Empire State Building in New York was lit in blue-white-red Monday evening to honor the singer.
