The civil and military authorities, accompanied by representatives of associations bearing the memory of slavery, this Monday, May 10 marked the National Day of the memories of the slave trade and slavery and their abolition. The sub-prefect Danyl Afsoud read a text from the former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac.
The year 2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Taubira law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity, adopted on May 10, 2021, and, following it, the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment in metropolitan France of a National Day of memories of the slave trade and slavery and their abolition.
In Dijon, the commemorative plaque recently left the roundabout on Place Victor-Schoelcher, named after the man who had launched the decree to abolish slavery in the French colonies on April 27, 1848. It is now installed inside the Paul Doumer stadium.
This Monday, May 10, 2021, the civil and military authorities therefore met for a ceremony, in a small format due to the health crisis, chaired by Danyl Afsoud, chief of staff of the prefect of Côte-d’Or.
Were present: Didier Martin, deputy for Côte-d’Or, Denis Hameau, vice-president of the regional council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Benoît Bordat, deputy mayor of Dijon delegated to the duty of memory, Anne Erschens and Ludovic Rochette , departmental advisers of Côte-d’Or, Bruno Dupuis, director of the departmental service of ONACVG, colonel Laurent Thiry, second in command of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté gendarmerie region, colonel Pierre Egret, second in command ‘Dijon Gendarmerie School, Lieutenant-Colonel Étienne Royal, deputy departmental military delegate.
The associations bearing the memory of slavery were represented by Hyacinthe Diouf and Alain Foka for the Afro-Caribbean diaspora of Burgundy-Franche-Comté as well as by Dieynaba Balde for the SOS Racism committee of Côte-d’Or.
The “systematic character” of the Western Treaty
Major Sylvie Dupuy, reservist in the departmental military delegation of Côte-d’Or, opened the ceremony and entrusted the floor to Hyacinthe Diouf to read the poem “The accursed slavery” by Yvan Balchoy. An extract from the speech delivered by Aimé Césaire on July 21, 1945 on the occasion of the traditional feast known as Victor Schoelcher was read by Benoît Bordat.
Danyl Afsoud has retained an extract from the declaration made in Paris on May 10, 2006 by the President of the Republic Jacques Chirac during the first commemorative day in metropolitan France for the memory of slavery and its abolition.
Jacques Chirac’s speech induced a historical contextualization of slavery: “The Western Slavery, from the beginning of the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century, was neither the first nor the only manifestation of the slave trade, which took place. extended over more than a millennium. And it required, it is true, multiple complicity, even in the countries of origin of the slaves ”.
An approach recognizing the peculiarity of the Western Treaty and its contemporary implications: “But, by the systematic character that it has assumed, by its geographical extension, the Western Treaty has exerted an influence on the evolution of our entire world. Triangular trade has been a dehumanization enterprise that has lasted for several centuries, and on the scale of several continents. A tragedy, which saw the mass deportation of men, women, children, torn from their land, from theirs, and conveyed like animals. (…) Make no mistake: even today, this tragedy has echoes. In the West in particular, it gave substance to the most intolerable racist theses, in absolute contradiction with the ideas of the Enlightenment. By depriving Africa of a vigorous blood, it has exhausted this continent. And, even today, forms of slavery and forced labor persist in the world, against which we must mobilize more than ever ”.
A framework set up to better underline the republican stake of the abolition of slavery: “Looking all our past in the face is one of the keys to our national cohesion. It is an additional force for our future because it is the mark of our ability to move forward, together. We must look at this past without concessions, but also without blushing. Because the Republic was born with the fight against slavery. 1794, 1848: the Republic is abolition. We are the heirs of these Republicans. We can be proud of their fight for human rights. Even today, their commitment obliges us. This first commemoration is not an end: it is a start. It is the necessary affirmation of a memory of slavery shared by all French people ”(find the complete declaration).
White roses for the duty of memory
Each personality then placed a white rose at the foot of the plaque while the song “Oh Freedom!” Was played. of the Golden Singers. A time of meditation preceded the national anthem.
The civil and military authorities ended the ceremony with a time for discussion with representatives of associations bearing the memory of slavery.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
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