The tribute of the Nation to Simone Veil, fifth woman to enter the Pantheon

On three occasions, the procession stopped before resuming its journey. Carried by members of the Republican Guard, the coffins of Simone and Antoine Veil went up, under a blazing sun, the Soufflot street towards the Pantheon, where the couple entered, Sunday 1 ^and July, under the cheers of the public

Three judgments to pay tribute to the three great battles led by Simone Veil, fifth woman to be on the list of Great Men: the one for the rights of women, marked by the adoption of the law authorizing termination of pregnancy in 1974; that for Europe, of which she was the first woman to take the presidency of parliament in 1979; that for the memory of the deportation, which she survived – she always refused, until her death on July 5, 2017, to be only presented as such.

The convoy left at 10:30 Sunday from the Shoah Memorial, before stopping on the Edmond Rostand Square at the foot of rue Soufflot, covered with a blue carpet, the color of peace and Europe, wanted by Emmanuel Macron. The coffins then went up the street, under loud applause.

At the arrival on the place of the Pantheon, around 11:30, ninety-two singers were surprised "The Song of the Swamps" before giving way to the President of the Republic . "The decision to bring Simone Veil to the Pantheon was not only mine but the decision of her family, but that of all the French" launches Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of his speech.

" who had lived the unspeakable experience of savagery and arbitrariness knew that only dialogue and concord between peoples would prevent Auschwitz from reborn on the cold ashes of its victims hammered the president in front of 1,000 personalities or close to the couple invited, and several hundred anonymous, leaning along the barriers of the street Soufflot and in front of giant screens arranged in the gardens of Luxembourg. When she decides to testify, it is first of all to pay homage to the righteous of France. To recall the incredible courage of French families who, at the risk of their lives, had hidden Jewish children " he added.

Covered with the French flag, the coffins are then entered by the monumental portal of the Pantheon in the presence of the President of the Republic and his wife Brigitte, of the two sons still alive of the couple Veil and their descendants

Jean Veil, the eldest of Simone's three sons who bears the name of Simone's younger brother, deported with his father in … https://t.co/MuqwJjK2RI

– AnnickCojean (@cojean annick)
   

In the crowd, a great silence gave way to the solo cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton, interpreting the sequel number 5 of Johann Sebastian Bach.

"I am very touched"

Despite the heat – firefighters and police evacuated several people, victims of discomfort during the ceremony – the Parisians came many to pay a last homage to Simone Veil.

«The law on the abortion, its European commitment, its capacity to transform the drama of the second world war in political courage " includes Jack, retired, commitments of the former Minister of Health. He will go to see "without fault" the coffin of Simone Veil in the nave of the Pantheon, open to the public until Monday, July 2. "My great grandparents did not return from the deportation, like many of my cousins. But like Simone Veil, the members of my family who survived worked for reconciliation with Germany " he adds.

Joined the Ministry of Health in 1978 under the direction of Simone Veil, Josette remembers above all a "deeply human" woman: "There were some good ministers, but I left two years ago and her pbadage still leaves something very special." In the forefront throughout the ceremony, she, born after the war, also salutes the courage of memory symbolized by Simone Veil: "I am very touched. I campaigned for the European reconstruction it has undertaken. It was very important for me to be here today " she says.

The bodies of Antoine and Simone Veil will be buried in the sixth vault of the Pantheon, Monday, July 2, at the a private ceremony. They will rest alongside Jean Moulin, André Malraux, René Cbadin and Jean Monnet