The drum rolls of the Republican Guard, played mutedly, accompany like a shudder the portraits of the 42 French victims of the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, carried in the courtyard of the Invalides.
They are soon covered by the alarm siren which sounds.
It is noon and, on February 7, the ritual exercise of the first Wednesdays of the month takes on poignant relief.
From the distant possibility of war, to its dire reality.
The infinite suffering of families when smiling, carefree portraits parade on the giant screen;
the three seats left empty for Ohad, Ofer, Orion, hostages still missing.
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This Wednesday, the nation pays tribute to the “tortured of October 7”, as Emmanuel Macron calls them.
That day, “the unspeakable resurfaced from the depths of History,” continues the president.
More than 1,160 people shot, burned alive or mutilated during a “massive and heinous attack” by Hamas.
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