Sarkozy Plan to Honor Communist Resistance Hero Creates a Stir
A plan by President Nicolas Sarkozy to commemorate a Communist resistance hero who was slain as a teenager by France’s wartime Nazi occupiers has stirred controversy and prompted accusations of manipulation by the government.
Just after his election in May, Mr. Sarkozy ordered that the farewell letter of the teenager, Guy Moquet, should be read aloud in French schools on Oct. 22, the anniversary of his death.
Mr. Moquet, a 17-year-old member of the Young Communists, was one of 27 French hostages executed in 1941 in retaliation for the assassination of a German officer by resistance fighters.
His letter beginning, “My darling mum ... I am going to die!” was seized on by Mr. Sarkozy during the election campaign as a symbol of patriotic sacrifice.
Some teachers have been angered by what they describe as presidential interference in the classroom.
“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 history teacher in Paris, wrote in a letter in Sunday’s Le Monde.
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Just after his election in May, Mr. Sarkozy ordered that the farewell letter of the teenager, Guy Moquet, should be read aloud in French schools on Oct. 22, the anniversary of his death.
Mr. Moquet, a 17-year-old member of the Young Communists, was one of 27 French hostages executed in 1941 in retaliation for the assassination of a German officer by resistance fighters.
His letter beginning, “My darling mum ... I am going to die!” was seized on by Mr. Sarkozy during the election campaign as a symbol of patriotic sacrifice.
Some teachers have been angered by what they describe as presidential interference in the classroom.
“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 history teacher in Paris, wrote in a letter in Sunday’s Le Monde.