As every year, I participated in the commemorative ceremonies for the Caravelle Ajaccio-Nice disaster, which on September 11, 1968, crashed into the sea off Cap d’Antibes. This meeting was particularly important as it marked the 50th anniversary. Half a century has passed without uncovering the truth about the origin of the catastrophe.
Strong suspicions hang over the military, which may have lost control of a missile during a test flight. However, this version, supported by numerous testimonies, has never been confirmed by the French State, which has consistently invoked defense secrecy against investigators. Thanks to Alain Chemama, a judge from Nice (incidentally a former university friend), the judiciary demands that the government lift this secrecy, and consequently, the families of the victims should find satisfaction before the 51st anniversary. Still, nothing is entirely assured, judging by the absence of a State representative in the morning.
The ceremony lived up to its significance in both importance and tone. We first gathered in Sainte Hélène Church in the presence of the famous I Muvrini and under the auspices of Pope Francis, who had sent a personal message for the occasion. Then, all participants assembled in front of the small monument in Carras (white wings and blue waves well known to readers of Bay of Dreams). Gilles Siméoni, the autonomist president of the territorial community of Corsica, and Laurent Marcangeli, the Bonapartist mayor of Ajaccio, spoke with force and restraint to demand this truth, which will finally allow the families to find peace while initiating the process of forgiveness.
Lenin once said in his time — the last century — that truth is revolutionary; it is up to the State to understand that, in 2018, it must be republican.
Patrick Mottard
