Posted on 05/30/2004 8:05:18 PM PDT by blam
Planes that breach D-Day air space 'will be shot down'
By Ben Fenton in Arromanches
(Filed: 31/05/2004)
Private pilots who stray into Normandy air space during the 60th anniversary of D-Day next weekend will be shot down, French officials said yesterday.
With at least 16 heads of state, including the Queen and President George W Bush, attending the ceremonies, organisers are guarding particularly against an al-Qa'eda attack from the air.
French troops near the town of Arromanches
It is one of the biggest security exercises in Europe since the war. An enormous network of radar equipment has been stretched between Deauville and Cherbourg, with Awacs early warning aircraft already in the skies.
The aircraft will be joined this week by small, remote-controlled drones. Advanced Crotale anti-aircraft missiles have been primed and two squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighters are stationed nearby.
The French ministry of defence has spared no expense. It has established a temporary air base at Carpiquet, outside the city of Caen, as the hub of its defences.
There, more than 800 soldiers will maintain round-the-clock surveillance, backed by more than 50 military helicopters.
A spokesman for the 120-acre camp said: "The dangers are multiple, from a hijacked airliner being crashed into the stands at the main international ceremony at Arromanches to a tiny bomb being detonated remotely. But we are stretching an impenetrable fabric of protection above Normandy."
At sea, fishermen and pleasure craft have been banned from the Seine Bay that stretches along the beaches which were codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword on June 6, 1944.
A French carrier, Charles de Gaulle, and an American carrier, George Washington, will be patrolling the bay, which will also be swept for mines. There are unconfirmed reports that submarines will be used in the security precautions.
On land, more than 9,000 French troops are arriving this week, supplementing the 6,300 gendarmes and 2,300 police officers already on duty.
The focus of all this protection will be a series of events marking the contribution of the allied nations to the Normandy landings, a theme that will be brought together at an international ceremony on cliffs above the small seaside town of Arromanches next Sunday.
There the heads of state will watch President Jacques Chirac symbolically award the French Legion d'Honneur to 10 veterans of each of the 14 countries that took part. For the first time, Germany will be represented - by Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.
Most people believe that this will be the last big commemoration of D-Day. The security operation will be twice the size of that for the last major ceremony in 1994 and is graphically illustrated at Arromanches.
The town's residents have been told that they must either stay indoors throughout next Sunday or leave the area. Even Patrick Jardin, the mayor, one of the few local people invited to the international ceremony, will have to travel by bus to Caen, 45 minutes' drive away, and board a special bus to return to Arromanches that afternoon.
Nice hats.
the last big commemoration? I guess they figure that for the 100th anniversary, France will be a Muslim nation.
SledgeCS
My son is there today. He must be laughing his a$$ off seeing those berets.
The fact that we allow a garbage scow like the de Gaulle to share the same ocean with such a fine ship as the USS George Washington is a testament to our tolerance.
"Nice hats."
LOL- even their hats are surrendering!
They'll no doubt use one of their "White Flag" missiles...;)
I'm betting that those 9,000 French troops will surrender to the 200 or so Wehrmacht veterans expected to attend the ceremonies!
George Lucas should go to world leaders and film them on bluescreen, like he does for his Star Wars prequel movies, then matte them into background, such as at Normandy or at a college commencement or whatever.
Now that I mention it, Congress shouldn't have to travel and maintain 2 residences, one in their district or state and one in Washington, DC. They can just telecommute/video conference now. Imagine what that would do for staff and expense reduction.
I wonder how many of the 9,000 French troops are Muslims...
Does he laugh at the American Special Forces berets too?
Didn't Rommel say something similar at the end of May 1944? Look how that turned out.
So the French are gonna shoot down any airplane invading the D-Day Celebration airspace huh? Ohhhhhhh. I bet that has all the world leaders in fear and trembling.
Those hats double as chair cushions.Turned inside out they become a white surrender flag.
How long will the President be there?
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