A Landing That Sends Shivers down Your Spine

The anniversary sequence that begins Wednesday must remind us of what it was like to live under the yoke of fascism, under the hammer of war. Current events demand it.

Joe Biden landed at Paris-Orly airport Wednesday morning, opening a French sequence of events focused on Thursday’s major international ceremony at Omaha Beach celebrating the 80th anniversary of June 6, 1944, the famous D-Day.

This five-day event in France is historically long because it marks an important and meaningful occasion.

The far right and populism are gaining the upper hand in Europe and in the United States, in the polls and in people’s minds, threatening not only social cohesion but in some cases, democracy itself. There is also the return of a war of aggression in Europe, against freedom and against what the West may have thought it represented for 80 years. The war in Ukraine will be on everyone’s minds in Normandy, and then there is the rise of authoritarianism around the world, a form of government that seems to be riding the wave of the times. All of this leads to polarization, withdrawal and the disruption of global alliances and balances.

All these threats are a reminder to the last survivors of the war in France, the survivors that Emmanuel Macron wanted to put at the forefront of these commemorations. Because when these survivors are gone, there will be one less barrier to the manipulation of reality, particularly historic reality, which is so common today. Even testimonial images will become increasingly more fragile, especially in the face of those who harness the power of artificial intelligence to promote their alternative reality.

We must cherish the truth of 1939-1945. We must listen as closely as possible to as many as possible about what happened in Europe 80 years ago. And remind the younger generation of Europeans (those younger than 80 years old) what it was like to live under the yoke of fascism, and under the hammer of war. Because there is a risk of forgetting the lessons learned during this time, before Macron’s parents were even born. Biden himself was alive, but he was only a one-year-old toddler. Let’s pay attention to these commemorations, as we do to the heads of state who, let’s hope, are not just there to exploit a political opportunity.