It has sent shockwaves across France, with politicians from all parties expressing their outrage.
“The grave, filmed permanently, was degraded at 17:14 by a single individual who mounted it and gave two great kicks on the base of the cross, causing the fall of the cross. But the base of the tomb has remained intact,” the prosecutor of Chaumont, Frederic Nahon, told AFP.
An immense cross of Lorraine, symbol of the Resistance, is located within the memorial grounds which welcomes some 100 000 visitors per year. The general was buried next to his wife Yvonne de Gaulle and daughter Anne de Gaulle.
The desecration happened “in less than a minute”, according to the prosecutor, who said that the author of the attack, aged thirty years, did not have his face hidden and acted alone.
Nahon said the man had “spit” on the grave, but tried to downplay the political motive. “It is apparently someone somewhat disturbed,” mayor Pascal Babouot told FranceInfo.
The suspect, “in shorts and t-shirt”, then left the cemetery without further degradation to join his car outside, which is “not registered in a department of the Greater East” [of which Haute-Marne is part, editor’s note]. There, according to several witnesses, a woman waited for him.
Marine Le Pen, slammed the act of vandalism against the wartime hero’s tomb and called it a “totally contemptible” act.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe also expressed his rage. “Sadness and consternation: The act of vandalism committed on the tomb of General de Gaulle is an act against France,” said Philippe in a tweet.
“Shame on those who vandalized General de Gaulle’s tomb. It has dealt a blow to my patriotic heart,” said Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin.
De Gaulle is a hero in France, and founder the country’s Fifth Republic. He also served as the French president for a decade and ended the country’s colonial war in Algeria.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called on authorities to quickly repair the tomb. He said that De Gaulle’s memory was “dear to all French people” but just before his election Macron had implied in an interview with the daily Le Figaro that De Gaulle’s involvement in Algeria was a “crime against humanity”.
The conflict in Algeria was responsible for bringing the General back to power in 1958: French citizens in Algeria, opposed to the appointment of Pierre Pflimlin on 13 May 1958, because of his readiness to negotiate with the independence movement.
Between November 1954 and the end of 1962, tens of thousands died in Algeria at the hands of Algerians. The Evian accords were followed by a series of tragedies, such as the FLN massacre of pro-French Algerians, in particular of the Harkis (Algerians who served in the French armed forces) who were recruited against the General’s instructions and the massive exodus of French colonists, the “pieds-noirs”.
Le Pen said on Facebook that Macron’s remarks were close to treason: “Is there anything worse when you want to become president than going abroad to accuse the country you want to lead of crimes against humanity?”