Chirac seeks closure over Dreyfus affair

[IndianaGreen]

Well, not quite a complete mea culpa as it turns out...

Chirac seeks closure over Dreyfus affair

By John Lichfield in Paris
Published: 12 July 2006

President Jacques Chirac will attempt today to close a controversy which has divided France for more than a century - the case of the jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, falsely accused of spying for the Germans in 1894.

In a "national ceremony" described by the Elysee Palace as "a great moment in history", M. Chirac will make a speech to mark the centenary of the final acquittal of Captain Dreyfus on 12 July 1906.

The speech will take place in the courtyard of the Ecole Militaire, where in 1895 the young, jewish officer was stripped of his badges of rank before a baying crowd of 20,000 people.

The President is expected, in effect, to re-habilitate Dreyfus fully for the first time. He will describe him as not just the victim of an appalling miscarriage of justice but as a great patriot and a great Frenchman. M. Chirac is also likely to give a warning against the rise of a "new" anti-semitism amongst some black people in France - and the survival of an older kind of anti-semitism amongst some ultra-Catholic whites.

The President has, however, rebuffed moves by the captain's latest biographer and several prominent politicians for the remains of Dreyfus to be exhumed and placed in the Pantheon, the resting place of the official heroes of the French state.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1173230.ece

[Mass]

1. Dreyfus has been exonerated of all charges 100 years ago

I am not totally sure that there is still a mea culpa to make at this point. This said, it is important to commemorate this event so that people remember it.

I dont think there is a big movement to send him to the Pantheon. French news speak only of one politician, which is well known for liking big ceremonies. I dont think this is significant. I dont think anybody in France who is less than 30 even knows what the Pantheon is.

[Blue_Tires]

2. ttt n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

3. what is "ttt?" thanks. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

4. to the top

just kicking the thread

[Behind the Aegis]

5. tsm!

(thanks so much)! :)