Par Julien Munoz
Published on Apr 29, 24 at 1:03 p.m. See my news Follow La Presse de la Manche
There are rumors that appear to be truths by dint of being repeated. Rumors that circulate and are appropriated like evidence in discussions in town, even though they are not based on much. One day, sometimes and not always, hypotheses become, once confirmed, information.
Emmanuel Macron in Cherbourg, June 7, 2024
For several months since Cherbourg (Manche) has known that it will host, for the first time, an international ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Landing, the idea according to which Emmanuel Macron could be accompanied by Joe Biden on Tuesday June 7, 2024 near of the City of the Sea circulates.
And steadily gains strength as the event gets closer.
It will come quickly now. These days, the Liberation Mission has put its platform online to allow the hundreds of journalists expected in Normandy to be able to obtain accreditation. Faced with the facts, today, no one “knows anything”.
For now, it’s calm…
Here and there, concordant clusters of clues are sought to validate the hypothesis. That the American services prepare well in advance for June 6 is common, and does not necessarily indicate the arrival of a high-ranking personality.
In recent days, however, our colleagues from Le Parisien learn that the Élysée is working with Washington on a possible state visit by the American president between June 6 and 8.
Beyond the often repeated hopes of local communities who have until now been relatively little informed about what awaits them, the moment would have a lot of meaning for the two countries, politically and historically.
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According to Le Parisien, “the Élysée confirms avenues of work”. In Cherbourg, for the moment, the security forces have not perceived any obvious signals. Neither on the American side, nor even on that of the Presidency of the Republic.
A few days before the Europeans, in the middle of the American countryside
American President Joe Biden is currently expected in Calvados on June 6 for this highly symbolic anniversary date of “D-Day”, even if his arrival is not yet officially confirmed on the D-Day side. ‘Omaha Beach. This, however, leaves little doubt.
His predecessor Donald Trump also made the trip to Normandy for the 75th anniversary in 2019, or Barack Obama in 2014.
There is the calendar and the symbols that can be found in them as a backdrop to the celebration of a regained Freedom. Joe Biden is engaged in the American electoral campaign, which should see him face off against Donald Trump in November of the year, while Emmanuel Macron will have one eye on the European election on June 9, 2024.
There is material here to talk about the place of the United States and sometimes its greatness, particularly through the figure of the last veterans who will come to set foot again, 80 years later, on Normandy soil.
Also talking about democratic values that no one could consider in danger while populism is gaining ground on the electoral level, almost everywhere in the world. And, in particular, in Europe.
Rendezvous with History
After Saint-Lô (Manche) on June 5, 2024 and Omaha Beach on June 6, 2024, Emmanuel Macron will go to Bayeux (Manche) on the morning of June 7, 2024 to commemorate the permanence of the Republic, before making the trip at the start of afternoon in Cherbourg, the busiest port in the world in 1944, the objective of the Landings liberated by the Americans.
The City of the Sea is also the link that unites France and the United States, between Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and the United States. I think this location makes sense for the event.
Benoit Arrivé, mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche)
There are the signs, even when discretion is required given the high security stakes. It remains to be seen, within six weeks, whether the clusters of clues will end up pointing to the truth. Until then, the noise has not stopped circulating in town.
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