Memorial to the wars in Indochina

On the outskirts of the town, the heavy past of the wars in Indochina is materialized, and the Memorial is the funereal record of this. Dedicated to the soldiers and civilians who died for France and were repatriated to France.

French Indochina, comprising Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina, Cambodia and Laos, was created in 1887, and Ho Chi Minh, founder of the Viet Minh, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. For eight years from 1946, the Viet Minh waged an all-out war against the colonialists. In early 1954, it succeeded in encircling and suffocating Diên Biên Phu. There, after five months of fierce fighting, it overcame the French resistance. The French presence in the Far East came to an end.

On September 14 1956, the last French soldier embarked for Saigon.

The signing of the Franco-Vietnamese protocol in 1986 made it necessary to find a site in France for the construction of a necropolis. Fréjus, with its long history of colonial rule, was chosen as the site of a camp for soldiers leaving for Indochina.

The foundation stone for the necropolis was laid by Prime Minister Jacques Chirac on January 19, 1988. This was followed by the inauguration of the Memorial by the then President of the Republic, François Mitterrand.

The bodies to be laid to rest in the Fréjus necropolis are those of soldiers who "died for France", as well as civilians. In addition to the project to build a necropolis, there was also a project to create a historical hall. Hence the name "Mémorial des guerres en Indochine" ("Indochina War Memorial").

The memorial stands on a 23,403m2 site and was designed by architect Bernard Desmoulin, who was responsible for the partial restoration of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the interior design of the Grand Commun at the Château de Versailles.

It is part of a 110 m-diameter peripheral circulation, the circle symbolizing both the journey and the military enclosure inherited from the spiritual circle of the tribes. "It's a kind of metaphor for the loop interrupted by death...".

The rows of alveoli have received the bones of 17250 identified servicemen. In the crypt, the mortal remains of 3152 unknown victims lie in an ossuary.

The total number of bodies is 23945, and 34955 are inscribed on the wall of remembrance. These are soldiers whose bodies have been returned to their families, soldiers who have been reported missing, or bodies left behind. A cultural area featuring the four main religions and a historical evocation room complete the complex.

General Bigeard's ashes were also transferred in 2012 to the Mémorial des Guerres en Indochine, the date chosen being November 20, the date of Operation Castor, during which he jumped on Dien Bîen Phu at the head of his paratroopers.

The Memorial is the property of the French Ministry of Veterans and Victims of War. It is managed by the Direction interdépartementale des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de guerre, in Marseille.

Equipments

• Car park
• Free car park