The gardens of the Arènes de Cimiez will host the eleventh edition of “Au Soleil des Deux Rives” this Sunday, September 10, an event commemorating the memory of the harkis. François Valéry, a disco era star, will perform on stage at this occasion.
The city of Nice hosts the event day titled “Au Soleil des Deux Rives” in the olive grove of the Cimiez gardens. This event on the theme “harkis and pieds-noirs, a united heart” aims each year to bring together harkis and pieds-noirs and their families to honor this shared history. This event day will be held fifteen days before the National Day of Tribute, celebrated on September 25.
The history of tens of thousands of repatriates is closely linked to the region of Nice. Once the Evian Accords were signed in 1962, which aimed to end the Algerian War, Nice and its surroundings quickly became welcome lands for the harkis. Jean Médecin created at that time a municipal service for Repatriates.
Among those who were repatriated by the French government of the era, some were settled in the Alpes-Maritimes, particularly in the camps of Mouans-Sartoux, Breil-sur-Roya, and L’Escarène.
Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, hosted a delegation from the National Independent Compensation Commission for the recognition and reparation of the abuses suffered by the Harkis at the town hall last May. On this occasion, he reaffirmed his total support for the harkis and their fight for reparation.
François Valéry, a child of pieds-noirs
After Enrico Macias last year, it is now the turn of François Valéry to give an exclusive concert in Nice. This exceptional guest was not chosen at random; his presence is highly symbolic. His real name is Jean-Louis Mougeot, and he was born in Oran in colonial Algeria in 1954.
Coming from a pied-noir family, the performer of “Aimons nous vivants” has experienced exile. And from this traumatic episode of his life, the song “Oran, June 1962” was born.
In the 1970s-80s, he had a series of hits. “Une chanson d’été,” “Qu’est-ce qu’on a dansé sur cette chanson,” “Emmanuelle,” “Dream in blue,” and “Elle danse Marie” were all successes, not to mention the unavoidable “Aimons nous vivants.”
The day’s schedule
Entrance to the site is free and open from 10 a.m.. The festivities begin with music at 10:15 a.m. with a performance by the Nice firefighters’ orchestra. An open-air mass will be given by Father Scotto at 10:30 a.m.
The activities continue in the afternoon with a oriental dance show from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Before François Valéry’s concert, which will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., two other artists will take the stage. Singer-songwriter Syka James will perform from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Then, it will be the turn of the band Sun Record from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
A food area with the theme of culinary traditions from Over There is open all day. A bookstore area is also set up, allowing people to browse works from the Soleil des Deux Rives library maintained by the Historical Documentation Center on Algeria. It gathers repatriated writers and harkis who will present and sign their books.
