Wind, sun, and brandished flowers: that was the scene at the Promenade des Anglais on Sunday early afternoon. From 2 PM, around a hundred people, all dressed in white, gathered opposite the Verdure Theater. The multitude of T-shirts sporting the image of Ingrid Betancourt left no doubt about the cause of the assembly. Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio, who was preparing to run for the presidential election, was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on February 23, 2002. Six years later, Ingrid Betancourt is still being held hostage by Colombian guerrillas. Her health has significantly deteriorated. Today, her release is a matter of life and death. Her plight has moved, and continues to move, the people of Nice.
Many locals, not really informed about the gathering, joined the procession. Such was the case for Françoise and her husband, Parisians on vacation: “We’ve been on holiday here for a week and had cut ourselves off from the media world. We discovered the white march. Since we were going to take a stroll by the sea, we might as well do it for a good cause.” Françoise joined at the end of the parade and followed it to Quai Rauba Capeu. Françoise’s case was not isolated. The procession grew larger and included nearly a thousand people by the time Véronique Anfosso, coordinator of the support committee in the Alpes-Maritimes, read a poignant message from Sister Emmanuelle: “Her suffering is my suffering. We must free Ingrid Betancourt before it’s too late.” After the message, hundreds of white flowers were thrown into the sea. It was a touching moment, like those that occurred elsewhere in France that Sunday.
