Yesterday, Nice commemorated the 50th anniversary of the crash that resulted in 95 deaths off the coast of Antibes, on September 11, 1968. The victims’ families still hope for the lifting of the state secrecy.
On September 11, 1968, at 10:33 AM, the Nice-Ajaccio Caravelle crashed into the sea off the coast of Cap d’Antibes. Ninety-five people, including about ten children, perished. There were no survivors. Every year, a tribute is paid in memory of those who perished on the Nice-Ajaccio Caravelle.
Yesterday, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, Laurent Marcangeli, Mayor of Ajaccio, Pierre-Paul Léonelli, Deputy Mayor of Nice, Gilles Simeoni, President of the Executive Council of Corsica, and Mathieu Paoli, President of the Association of Victims’ Families, commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster.
At 10:30 AM, a remembrance mass at the Sainte-Hélène Church took place in the presence of the main dignitaries mentioned above, accompanied by a hundred people who also came to pay homage to the deceased. The compact group then proceeded to the Carras Memorial for a civil ceremony with wreaths being laid.
The occasion allowed main representatives, such as Gilles Simeoni and Christian Estrosi, to demand the truth about this catastrophe. The BEA (Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis) had concluded that a fire occurred at the back of the cabin.
An explanation rejected by the victims’ families and some politicians present. “We are deeply affected by the absence of a State representative on this fiftieth anniversary. (…) I believe that more than ever, we must show that united, we will not give up and demand the truth,” assured Christian Estrosi.
For Mathieu Paoli, President of the Association of Victims’ Families, there is no doubt. “The plane seems to have been hit by a military missile (…). We don’t want money, just moral recognition. We’ve been loudly and clearly shouting for fifty years: we’re going to get there, I’m convinced of it!”
Tanguy Barbancey
