Simone VEIL

Simone Veil is a great French political and moral figure. Deported to Auschwitz at the age of 16 because she was Jewish, she survived the Shoah. After the war, she became a magistrate and then Minister of Health. In 1975, she pushed through the law legalizing voluntary interruption of pregnancy (abortion), a major reform for women's rights. She went on to become the first President of the European Parliament to be elected by universal suffrage.

Many schools bear the name of Simone Veil because she embodies fundamental values of the republican school system. For a commune such as Cuges-les-Pins, choosing Simone Veil as the name of a school means conveying a strong message of tolerance, responsibility and citizenship to pupils :

• Memory and vigilance in the face of racism and anti-Semitism
• Civic courage and democratic commitment
• Equality between women and men
• Respect for human dignity

Three anecdotes about Simone Veil

1. A matricule engraved for life: Deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Simone Veil wore matricule 78651 tattooed on her arm, which she never had erased.
   
   
2. A speech under insults: During the debate on the abortion law in 1974, she faced violent hostility in the National Assembly, with harsh personal attacks, but she remained calm and determined.
   
   
3. A highly symbolic entry into the Panthéon: In 2018, Simone Veil entered the Panthéon with her husband, national recognition of her fight for human dignity and the memory of the Shoah.