Paris has been so far my favorite city of this trip. Firstly, I loved getting a chance to practice my French language skills. I had also been there before so I was interested in seeing more than the usual tourist haunts. One of my favorite stops this time around was, as usual, Les Invalides with the Army Museum, the Charles de Gaulle exhibit and Napoleon’s Tomb.
I had never seen the World War II section of the museum and overall I thought it did justice to the war in Europe while also presenting things from a uniquely French perspective. What most struck me, however, were the portrayals of Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles de Gaulle. These men are two of the titans of French history, but the ways they are remembered are completely different.
Napoleon’s body lies in a giant marble sarcophagus. It would have been impressive on its own, but it was far from alone. It sat directly under the dome of a massive church in a giant circular depression, surrounded by a gallery. Within the gallery were reliefs describing his deeds, such as the legal code he created. He was always the central figure in these reliefs and always appeared to look like a Roman Emperor, or even a god, for the gallery was also surrounded by statues of angels. If one knew nothing about him and came upon these carvings, I couldn’t imagine how one could come away thinking that this was a mortal man.
On the other hand, the exhibit on Charles de Gaulle, while certainly very flattering, was nothing more than an exhibit. It was at least similar to Napoleon’s tomb in that it tried to give a somewhat heroic account of his deeds, but it was far from marble god-like reliefs. The main airport for Paris is named in his honor, as is a metro station, but he is certainly not alone in the latter distinction. There are statues of him to be found, such as one in Bayeux, but overall none of these things can compare with the majesty of Bonaparte’s repose. De Gaulle’s grave is humble and not even in Paris, neither interred in the same church as Napoleon along with the likes of Marshall Foch, France’s leader in the World War I, nor in the Pantheon, with Rousseau and Voltaire. The inscription on the Pantheon reads: “To great men, the grateful homeland.” De Gaulle would seem like a shoe-in.
These two different and unequal modes of remembrance did not seem to correspond with their legacy. De Gaulle is remembered as the leader of French resistance during World War II and a successful politician after the war – a liberator. Meanwhile Napoleon was an ambitious, power hungry conqueror who has been compared with Hitler; whatever glory he won for France, his wars caused the deaths of millions. For these reasons, it seems, that Napoleon is honored far too much while de Gaulle deserves more than he has been given. Ironically, this outcome is completely in keeping with the wishes of each. Napoleon wanted to be remembered in exactly the manner that he is: as a glorious leader. De Gaulle wished to be remembered simply, and so he is. Whatever his wishes, de Gaulle deserves more recognition – George Washington expressed the same desire, yet his accolades are not un-merited.