FRANCE was humiliated after activists stole flags and scrawled anti-Macron graffiti in a city ahead of D-Day celebrations.
The disaster occurred in Plumelec, Brittany, just hours before world leaders were due to arrive for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy beach landings.
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French President Emmanuel Macron today pays tribute to the heroes of the Special Air Service’s D-Day in Plumelec, where the first Allied soldier of the campaign was killed by German troops on June 6, 1944.
Security forces were out in full force across Brittany and Normandy in time for the celebrations, which will be attended by heads of state including King Charles and US President Joe Biden.
A steel ring will be placed around King Charles, Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other dignitaries who arrived in Paris this morning.
Stéphane Chavaux, commander of the Channel and North Sea gendarmerie group, said: “We are ready to respond to any threat and will use force if necessary.”
Eighty bomb disposal experts, including divers, were today checking the beaches of Normandy for explosives, as 43,000 soldiers, police and gendarmes flooded the region and surface-to-air missiles were deployed along the coast of northern France.
But all the flags that were to be used at the ceremony were still stolen on Tuesday, a city hall spokesman said.
He said: “Graffiti also appeared at a major bus stop, referencing the President of France.”
Among the messages clearly visible after the vandalism were “Macron Out”, “This is not France!” and “Brittany is not for sale”.
The spokesperson for Plumelec City Council described the theft and vandalism in the commune as “shocking and deplorable”, adding: “Video surveillance has been viewed and will allow us to identify the perpetrators of these unacceptable acts.
“Those responsible will be prosecuted and punished, whether they are adults or minors.”
The suspects include patriots from Brittany who oppose their region being governed from Paris.
A criminal investigation was opened.
During his visit to Plumelec, Macron will give a speech recalling the bravery of the Free French soldiers who were part of the elite British SAS.
The soldiers were among the first to jump into Brittany as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied operation to begin the liberation of France.
The first lethal accident it was Corporal Emile Bouétard, aged 28 – a Frenchman who had completed a course at the Parachute Training School in Ringway, Manchester.
His Free French unit was incorporated into 4 SAS in January 1944, and he was part of 3 Squadron when it arrived in the Morbihan department of France.
Their mission was to delay the transfer of German reinforcements from Brittany to the Normandy bridgehead.
They landed behind enemy lines at 00:45 on 6 June, but found themselves close to an enemy observation post.
Members of Squadron 3 were killed or taken prisoner while still gathering their equipment.
What happened on D-Day?
By Jessica Baker
JUNE 6, 2024 marks 80 years since the largest naval, air and land military operation in history – and the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe.
But what exactly happened on D-Day?
Tens of thousands of soldiers from the UK, US, Canada and France attacked German forces off the coast of northern France on June 6, 1944.
They raided five different beaches in Normandy.
It was the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy – the largest seaborne invasion ever attempted – and marked the beginning of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied northwestern Europe.
The “D” in D-Day stands for “day.”
D-Day is a military term used to describe the first day of any major military operation.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
