This Friday, December 8, the students of Lycée les Eucalyptus in Nice, along with law enforcement and political figures, paid tribute to the victims of the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks.
An event desired by many students, to commemorate the tragic attacks of 2015.
Gathered in the gymnasium, the students awaited the arrival of Mr. Adolph Colrat, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Mr. Marcel Authier, Departmental Director of Public Security, and Mr. Eric Ciotti, President of the Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council, to sing the Marseillaise together.
After a speech by the school principal, Mr. Hervé Beauvais, who reminded the youth of “the importance of passing on the values of the Republic,” a short video of several student selfies forming the blue, white, and red flag was shown, to demonstrate the youth’s solidarity in the face of barbarism.
The ceremony continued with the presentation of the “cubes of freedom” by the students to Mr. the Prefect and Mr. Ciotti. Ice cubes carved with designs by the students, on the themes of freedom, hope, and France.
For Sami, a 16-year-old student at the Lycée, the commemoration is important: “Doing nothing would be very serious, it affects our nation, these are my brothers who were affected during these attacks. We wanted to show that the youth is not asleep.”
For Régine Jullien, a librarian, the ceremony is a unique and very important moment: “Today, there are students from the Lycée but also foreign students who participated in the commemoration. They are here for 9 months to learn the French language and many come from war zones like Syria. They all wanted to participate in the event and especially to sing the Marseillaise, it is an honor for them.”
To close this commemorative ceremony, the students sang a song they chose: “On écrit sur les murs” by Demis Roussos.
by Florent Garelli
