Fears D-day ‘theme park’ could trivialise Normandy landings
PLANS to create a permanent tourist attraction recounting the Normandy Landings in northern France have prompted locals to warn against turning the bloody Allied invasion into a “Disney-style” commercial “D-day Land”.
The idea was first mooted by Hervé Morin, head of the Normandy regional council, who wanted to create a permanent site in the region to mark the landings of June 6 1944 in time for the 80th anniversary in 2024.
Around five million people visit Normandy every year on remembrance tours, often seeking details of relatives who fought in the biggest amphibious operation in military history, which proved decisive in the liberation of France and defeat of Nazi Germany.
Mr Morin says private investment will stump up the €100 million (£85m) for the “grandiose” project which he said would harness “the latest technology” to create light shows and film projection created by a “famous Anglo-saxon film director”. There are rumours Steven Spielberg has been approached to work on the attraction, which Mr Morin hopes could be placed somewhere between Caen and the landing beaches.
Patrick Jardin, mayor of Arromanches-les-bains,
where Gold beach is located, said: “Anything that brings to the fore the landing beaches in the coming years is a good point.”
But the prospect of a “show” is not to everyone’s taste. Olivier Paz, mayor of Merville-franceville, told local newspaper Ouest France that the project must not be “allowed to become
Disneyland”. And more than 1,000 people have signed a petition, started by an association called the National Research Group 1939-45, warning that the creation of “D-day Land” could “seriously harm the ecology of the area and lacks respect for the veterans and the people killed”.
Christophe Clément, who began the petition, told The Daily Telegraph it was a warning to politicians not to put profit before remembrance. “We hear it may be like Disneyland. This petition is an act of vigilance,” he said.
Loïc Jamin, head of the Bayeux Intercom tourism board stressed D-day is an “extremely sensitive issue” and warned against “sensationalism”.
“One must be very careful to respect history as the festive side can very quickly get too much,” he told Actu.fr.
The Normandy region said the project would be “nothing like Disneyland” and “fully respectful” of D-day history. The summer attraction would also mark “the liberation of Europe”.