The beautiful Yule Island in Central’s Kairuku district is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE, a French flying ace in the First World War who died in 1924.
As part of the celebrations, crew members of Auguste Bénébig a French navy vessel based in New Caledonia, anchored on the island and performed a memorial action through the cleaning and restoration of the grave of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE. Famous for his “acrobatic” landings, his name is still associated with aviation through the expression “landing like Bourjade”.
French Ambassador Guillaume Lemoine, European Union Ambassador Jacques Fradin and Central Governor, Rufina Peter were part of the dignitaries to the island.
The commemoration ceremony of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE comes days after the first official visit of General Yann LATIL, Commander of the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC), to Papua New Guinea. He made a 3-days official visit to Port Moresby at the end of February, where he met officials from Department of Defence and PNGDF to sign a 2024-2025 cooperation plan.
The FANC enable France to have permanent military presence in the Pacific Region in order to protect French interests in the region and maintain France’s military partnerships in this area of strategic interest.
With over 1,650 military personnel, the FANC provide regular support for missions involving government action at sea. They have the capacity to intervene in the event of a security or climatic crisis affecting the area. The FANC regularly share their expertise in the field of HADR and maritime security with the security and defence forces of partner countries in the Pacific.