Toulouse. The Cadets of the Gendarmerie visiting the Terre-Cabade Cemetery
Last Saturday, 31 young high school students from Haute-Garonne visited the Terre-Cabade cemetery in Toulouse. Fourteen girls and seventeen boys selected from 200 candidates to be part of the first promotion of Gendarmerie Cadets, since the establishment of the SNU (Universal National Service) activated in 2019 by Emmanuel Macron. After their week of immersion and cohesion, they carry out, on a voluntary basis, Missions of General Interest in various fields such as theft prevention, assistance to the elderly, or the preservation of the environment, for example. “Today, they are here as part of the memorial aspect of their training and their missions” explains Jacques Arres, squadron leader and president of the Association of Cadets of the National Gendarmerie in Midi-Pyrénées. Motivated despite the early hour and the cold, our young people then produced a long journey under the guidance of Jean-Pierre Mezure of the French Souvenir, who evoked many forgotten glories, heroes of the resistance or soldiers who died for France. A visit of more than 2 hours in which also participated Colonel Max Mazzonetto and Pascal Barcenas, security delegate at the Town Hall of Launaguet. Around 11 a.m., as scheduled in the program, a small group of volunteers then began cleaning up a grave. For Valentin, 17, who wants to join the army “it’s important to honor the memory of those who died for their country”. The morning ended with the laying of a wreath at the Monument du Souvenir Français.