A large section of the Pointe du Hoc cliff (Calvados), a symbolic place of the Normandy landings of June 6, 1944, collapsed on Friday, we learned from concordant sources.
“Due to the gradual erosion of Pointe du Hoc, part of the outcrop overlooking the English Channel has collapsed today (Friday). No one was injured in the landslide, which fell into the sea, and there is no risk to visitors,” the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), a US public body, said in a statement. who manages the site under a treaty dating from 1956.
Under the sun, a hundred tourists were present and photographed the side of the cliff engulfed by the waves, noted an AFP photographer.
“We have known since 2011 that the cultural landscape of Pointe du Hoc is in danger because of the erosion of the cliffs,” said Scott Desjardins, superintendent of the Normandy American Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc, quoted in the press release. the ABMC.
“We continue to study the situation to find ways to mitigate risk and preserve the site while continuing to tell the heroic story of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder and his men who scaled the cliffs the June 6, 1944 to help the success of the Allied landings in Normandy,” he added.
The phenomenon was expected
225 rangers undertook the ascent of the point more than 25 m high on June 6, 1944 under German fire in detestable weather conditions. Only 90 made it.
According to Régis Leymarie, Normandy deputy delegate of the coastal conservatory, which owns the site, this phenomenon was expected because “these cliffs have been eroding since their creation”.
“Twelve years ago, we had agreed with the Americans and the State services that the purpose of reinforcing the foot of the Pointe du Hoc cliff was to slow down erosion but in no way to Stop. The site was no longer as it was in 1944”, indicated the Normandy deputy delegate of the conservatory.
“We are on a symbol of what many coasts in Normandy and elsewhere are experiencing with an acceleration of the phenomenon of erosion”, he explained.
Pointe du Hoc welcomes nearly 500,000 visitors a year.