« Is it Sarkozy? » Foreign tourists can’t seem to get him out of their minds. As soon as a sedan arrives in front of the Monument to the Dead in Nice, families in shorts and caps stop, curious to see this unusual display by the seaside. A military convoy is stationed there, comprising about twenty Allied vehicles from World War II, driven by GI’s in period attire. French and American flags flutter side by side on their hoods.
The gendarmerie band, the military, and veterans clinging to their tricolor banners: all are at attention. Many locals from Nice are present, come to celebrate the liberation of their city. There are also tourists, French and foreign, taking advantage of the magical acoustics of the site to listen to La Marseillaise. Everyone feels equally admiring of the solemnity of the Monument to the Dead and the somber faces of those who experienced the war.
« Values to Defend »
No differences either for the men fallen in combat. Yesterday they celebrated both the soldiers of World War I, the resistors of World War II, and the soldiers of the 8th RPIMa from Castres, recently killed in Afghanistan. Christian Estrosi, Jacques Peyrat, and Patrick Allemand were gathered before the immense stele. No party to defend here, but a nation, with its ideals and values. « This is a gathering of everyone. It is not ideological; it’s a duty of remembrance,» recalls Deputy Mayor Estrosi.
He also assures that all the dead from the Alpes-Maritimes will be commemorated. « I will go to Verdun on September 13th to honor the memory of the children of the country. I also discovered, when I was a minister, a stele in Lorraine bearing the eagle of Nice.» No one was forgotten during this ceremony, except perhaps a few foreign tourists who, seeing Denise Fabre attending the ceremony, are perplexed: « I imagined her younger, like Carla Bruni! »
This video is from the site Web TV Nice 
