On Friday, June 20, 2008, in the lounge of the Palace of Sardinian Kings, Maître Martine Ouaknine, Deputy Mayor of the city of Nice, former president of the CRIF Southeast, and member of the National CRIF Executive Committee, received the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor from Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi. Surrounded by many friends as well as political figures, Martine Ouaknine responded to the President of the General Council with the informal “tu” form that he had used just moments earlier, apologizing for this deviation from protocol. She particularly wished to associate her parents, siblings, and her son, referencing the book “The Chain of Love,” and recalling her journey from the Moroccan shores that had so marked her childhood to Nice — moments of “precious encounters that transform a life,” she noted. In a speech of great emotional intensity, she shared the values she acquired from her upbringing: “the richness of Jewish tradition” and her “respect for others.” Two qualities that were severely tested when she had to confront and combat the early signs of anti-Semitism. For this reason, she decided to get involved, among many others, in the project to “protect young generations” against this scourge by organizing with Christian Estrosi, visits for Nice’s middle and high school students to the Auschwitz Memorial. According to Martine Ouaknine, the president of the General Council responded to her proposal with these words: “I went there myself, and I know one never comes back unchanged from such a journey.”
A few moments earlier, after addressing this subject, the Deputy Mayor himself had spoken to express his joy in “honoring a woman of heart, action, and openness, but above all, a faithful friend.” “A life,” he added in his speech, “entirely dedicated to justice, tolerance, and the city.” Tracing Martine Ouaknine’s career from the Bar to the Notary, Christian Estrosi also emphasized her involvement in training “child advocates,” but noted that she also dedicates a lot of time “assisting women in difficulty and distressed children,” especially “in the context of often poorly managed divorces.” He recalled her lifelong commitment to interfaith dialogue and mentioned that she had been the first woman co-opted by a Grand Rabbi into the Consistory of Nice.
There was no need to question, as Martine Ouaknine modestly did at the beginning of her thanks, the inherent risks of this exercise: “How to talk as little as possible about myself while not giving you the impression that this medal is undeserved?” For once, the brilliant eloquence of the lawyer was unnecessary. Traditionally, it is the Republic that honors. With Martine Ouaknine, it was, in a way, the Republic that was honored.
