The famous Normandy beaches, scene of the landings of June 6, 1944, could finally be listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The UN institution seems to have changed its mind about recent war sites.
Will the long work of persuasion carried out by France and the Normandy region finally come to fruition? As the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings will be celebrated next June, the idea of listing the famous Normandy beaches as a UNESCO world heritage site is resurfacing.
The file is not new since the Normandy Region and the State have wanted to register the five landing sites (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword) with UNESCO since 2008.
After a long process, the request for registration of the D-Day beaches came to a halt in spring 2019. But a report from UNESCO on January 24 has revived hopes: the UN institution now mentions the possibility of classifying sites “associated with memories of recent conflicts”.
Since the end of the Second World War, the Normandy beaches have become a very popular place of memory for the last veterans and their families. The beaches stretch for some 80 km between Ouistreham (Calvados) and Quinéville (Manche).
On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers landed in France. 10,000 young men were killed on the spot. Despite this bloodbath, Operation Overlord marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe from the Nazi yoke.
