President Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Resistance Over Tribute To Hostage Shot By Nazis

A new day of wartime remembrance exploded into a very French row yesterday when teachers accused President Sarkozy of hijacking the memory of a young Resistance fighter who was executed by the Nazis.

Mr Sarkozy ordered schools to read to all classes a farewell letter that Guy Môquet, 17, wrote to his family on the eve of his execution on October 22 1941. Môquet, a Communist, was shot with 26 other hostages in retaliation for the killing of a German officer.

In his campaign speeches the President routinely cited the poignant letter, which opens: “My darling little Mummy . . . I am going to die”, as a model of heroism. Bernard Laporte, the manager of the French rugby team and a friend of Mr Sarkozy, had the letter read to players to stiffen resolve before France’s disastrous first match against Argentina in the World Cup.

On the day Mr Sarkozy took office in May, he ordered its annual recitation as an example of patriotic sacrifice for modern youth. This prompted an outcry from the main teachers’ unions, historians, opposition politicians and members of the Môquet family. They dislike what they see as the purloining of the young resistant’s story by the radical conservative President.

The SNES, the biggest teachers’ union, said yesterday: “School is not the place for making political use of emotion.” Mr Sarkozy’s opponents object to what they see as the exploitation of the Môquet letter by a government that has curried right-wing favour with a new Minister for National Identity and with a law for DNA testing for some would-be immigrants.

Teachers also said that the President had no right to order what they taught. “Although I respect the memory of the young man shot in 1941, I believe above all that the President of the Republic cannot dictate to me what I teach,” Pierre Albertini, a Paris history teacher, wrote in Le Monde newspaper. Some experts said that the letter could be dangerous to ignorant children because it could sound as if Môquet was committing suicide. Suicide is the second highest cause of death for French teenagers after road accidents.

The fuss reached a peak yesterday, with many teachers disobeying and a noisy protest outside the Lycée Carnot, Môquet’s school in Paris. Mr Sarkozy called off a planned appearance to hear the recital. Demonstrators called for “resistance to racist laws” when Rachida Dati, the Justice Minister, attended a reading in the southern suburbs.

The Communist Party denounced Mr Sarkozy for “revising history” and for allegedly playing down Môquet’s political background. The party staged its own commemoration, rallying at the Guy Môquet Métro station in northern Paris.

Despite the row, the readings went smoothly in most places. Many schools invited Resistance survivors and devoted the day to teaching about the period. The Government voiced irritation with the wrangling over symbols and wartime memory, with François Fillon, the Prime Minister, calling the criticism “derisory”.

Henri Guaino, the close aide who writes Mr Sarkozy’s most lyrical and patriotic speeches, called the teachers’ objections incomprehensible.

Extracts from Guy Môquet’s letter

My darling little Mummy, my adored very little brother, my beloved little Daddy, I am going to die! What I ask you . . . is to be brave. I am and want to be as brave as those who went before me. Of course I would have wanted to live. But what I want with all my heart is that my death serves some use . . . To you, little Daddy . . . I salute you a last time. Know that I have done my best to follow the path that you laid down for me . . . I have no regret except for having to leave you all . . . Courage! Your loving Guy.

Tag Cloud

External Information

Additional Information

Where Am I?