Prince Albert II in the Var for 80th anniversary of landings
Prince Albert II and French President Emmanuel Macron © Axel Bastello / Princely Palace - Emmanuel Pita
Several celebrations took place with Prince Albert II and the Minister of State in attendance.
On 15 August 1944, the Allies began carrying out landings on 18 beaches along the Var coast between Toulon and Cannes during Operation Dragoon. 80 years on, a number of prominent figures and leaders from Africa, France and Monaco, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as veterans such as Herbert Traube, gathered on Thursday 15 August.
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They attended the international ceremony at the Boulouris necropolis, where 464 French servicemen are laid to rest. The ceremony took place despite rain, and was attended by Prince Albert II as a tribute to the veterans.
This first breakthrough into French territory not only helped prepare for the Normandy landings, but also liberated the region from depleted German forces.
One of Pierre Dartout’s last official outings
At La Motte, the first village between Fréjus and Draguignan to be liberated by American paratroopers, the Principality’s Minister of State Pierre Dartout was on hand to unveil the statue of Robert Frederick, commander of the 1st Airborne Task Force units. This Second World War hero now has a bronze sculpture measuring over 1m90, partly funded by Monaco.
“It’s a very moving moment, and the Principality was right to co-finance the monument. It was particularly important to the Prince because it pays tribute to those who liberated both France and Monaco,” Pierre Dartout told Monaco Info.
Commemorations in Monaco: 3 September
Monaco will have to wait until September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation. At 5 pm, a military ceremony will take place at Monaco’s cemetery, in front of the war memorial, attended by Prince Albert II, who will give a speech in the presence of three Monegasque, French and American military detachments.
At 6 pm. the flower-laying at a commemorative plaque on the National Council building, in memory of Monegasque Resistance fighter René Borghini and his liaison officer Esther Poggio, the Sovereign will inaugrate the exhibition entitled “Monaco libéré!”(Monaco, free!) in the lobby of the Ministry of State.
A number of events will be organised throughout Monaco by the Comité de commémoration d’époque to relive the historic moment of Monaco’s liberation.