French President Emmanuel Macron (right) speaks with Hubert Germain, a WWII veteran and 'Companion of the Liberation', during his visit to the 'Ordre de la Liberation' museum to mark the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle's appeal (Appel du 18 juin) to the French people to resist the Nazi occupation during the World War II, in Suresnes, France on Thursday. Photo: AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday vowed that everything would be done to find out who defaced a memorial for one of the worst single massacres in France by the Nazis during World War II.
Politicians from across the spectrum denounced the desecration of the main entrance sign for the memorial at Oradour-sur-Glane in central France, where 642 people were slaughtered on June 10, 1944 by a German SS division.
The word "martyr" was crossed out in the sign with white paint.
A blue cover was placed over the sign on Saturday, but images on social media accounts indicated the word in French for "liar" had been added next to it along with other slogans claiming to deny the massacre had taken place.
The inscriptions were discovered on Friday morning when the memorial center opened, its president Fabrice Escure told AFP.
"It is a complete outrage," he said, adding that a legal complaint had already been filed and security cameras may be able to provide evidence.
On June 10, 1944, Nazi forces sealed off the village after reports that a senior SS commander had been captured by the French resistance.
They grouped together all the men of the village in barns and shot them and then forced the women and children into a church which was set on fire.
After the war, resistance leader and later president Charles de Gaulle ordered that the village not be rebuilt but left in ruins as a reminder. A new village was built nearby.
The memorial center was later constructed to assist visitors.
AFP