The Place de la Loi of Versailles !!

Posted in France, Versailles

A wonderful subject for me as lived in the city of Versailles by the Notre Dame Church for 9+ years before moving on to the Morbihan (56). Versailles will always be in our hearts, it was our first owned home in France!  This was a nice memorial and wonderful square many times in and out of the City for us ; memories forever, Let me tell you about the Place de la Loi of Versailles !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

versailles pl de la loi mon fallen may12

The Place de la Loi has the monument war memorial to the gendarmerie or military police of France, built from 1938, completed in 1945, it was officially handed over to the city on November 12, 1941, by General Pacault. The city then took the opportunity to baptize the circular square that surrounds it as Place-de-la-Loi. It will be necessary to wait until July 7, 1946 for it to be inaugurated.  The monument to the glory of the National Gendarmerie, the only one of its type in France, It has a majestic central statue, framed by two massive square pylons, 12 meters high and 3 meters wide, spaced enough not to hide the facade of the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua which dominates it on the horizon in the nearby town of Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt (see posts). The square limits the area from Le Chesnay.

Versailles pl de la loi mon aux morts et st nicolas ch Le chesnay jun12

The large statue of 4 meters in height, of a magnificent appearance, symbolizes the Force in the service of the Law. She leans her right hand on a shield, thus evoking the protection that the Gendarmerie, in the service of Order and Justice, extends over the country and its citizens. The other arm presents a powerful gesture of will reflecting the energy with which the valiant soldiers of the elite weapon carry out their duty. Each of the groups represents gendarmes of our time, accompanied by ancestors in the weapon, having belonged to other moments in history: Louis XV, French revolution, First Empire, Conquest of Algeria. War of 1914, Tanks, gendarmes and contemporary guards. Finally, on the side faces, on the left, a mounted gendarme from 1880 and on the right, a mounted Republican guard from 1936.  At the foot of the statue, a hypogeum crowned with a bronze shield must collect the ashes of Le Gallois de Fougières, provost of the marshals of France, killed at the battle of Agincourt (1415) and buried, since then, near the ground of the fight, in the Church of Auchy-Ies-Hesdin (Pas-de-Calais 62).

Versailles pl de la loi mon fallen back ch le chesnay may23

It should first be noted that this monument is dedicated to the National Gendarmerie and the Republican Guards because there were several of them, which were the ancestors of the Gendarmerie, The date is symbolic because it was February 16, 1791 that the revolutionary government renamed in Jeu de Paume what was called the Maréchaussée in the National Gendarmerie.

The Versailles tourist office : https://en.versailles-tourisme.com/versailles-in-3-days

For info the Yvelines dept 78 tourist office on the royal town of Versailles: https://www.sortir-yvelines.fr/Art-et-culture/Art-et-culture-dans-les-Yvelines/visite-decouverte-yvelines/visiter-versailles-ville-royale

There you go folks, a magnificent memorial always facing you coming in or out thru the square into the rue des reservoirs of Versailles and the palace ! The history of France is indeed rich,and the architecture not the least ,this is a wonderful memorial to the fallen as many in my belle France, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Place de la Loi of Versailles !! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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