Today, the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of George Pompidou’s death took place at the George Pompidou Esplanade in Nice.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Pompidou’s death took place this morning at 11:30, with the presence of the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi. A grand ceremony to express all the gratitude to the late president. A missed president who was able to bring determination to France during his term. “I wanted to pay tribute to President Pompidou on this 50th anniversary of his passing. Firstly, because he represents years of profound freedom, years when the French were probably less constrained than today. Fewer norms, fewer contradictory injunctions, we were allowed to live a little.”
A short term in office. At the age of 62, President George Pompidou passed away in April 1974 due to cancer. To commemorate his memory, the Mayor of Nice laid a multitude of floral wreaths on the Esplanade in his honor.
A speech filled with nostalgia
“Pompon,” as the French affectionately nicknamed him, was driven to make France a country of production, an industrial and ambitious France. Be it with nuclear power, aeronautics, or space with the Ariane space program, Pompidou’s France was marked by innovation.
A speech by the city’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, filled with nostalgia: “France was free! France was discovering a certain material comfort, after difficult years, it was reconnecting with a global destiny. The Pompidou years are those of exceptional successes. The real power of a country is measured by its industrial strength. The Pompidou years are those of the fourth week of paid vacation, the massive development of family allowances, the minimum old-age pension. By highlighting what inspires me in him, I come back to the Pompidolian spirit, and I too believe in the idea of progress.”
