The new “March of the Bears” will be organized this Tuesday in Vénissieux by a hundred high school students.
This moderated event will be held for educational purposes and as part of Equality Day. Departure time is scheduled for 9 am. Three classes of Jacques Brel High School and a class of René Cassin College in Corpas will take part in this walk that connects the town hall with the Venetian High School. So the event will not be very long because only 500 meters separate the starting point from the destination point. As in any other parade, the students will hold up banners and proclaim the slogans that they have prepared in advance with their teachers.
After this walk, other events are planned with many guests. Thus, a conference will be held with Ivan Gasto, a historian specializing in immigration issues. Then, Christian Delorme, co-organizer of the Marche de Boer 1983, will be in attendance, accompanied by Tommy Djaidja, initiator of the event, and Fred Laois, who also participated. Finally, in the afternoon, footballer Lilian Thuram will be present via videoconference to discuss with students of the foundation he created in 2008 to fight racism.
The teens worked for six months on this famous walk in history and civics lessons and wrote questions for each guest. To be better prepared, students watch for example the movie “La Marche” released in 2013 which traces the genesis of this event.
In fact, this educational march comes 40 years after the real march of Labour that took place in Place Bellecour on October 29, 1983. This march was born after clashes between young people from the Menigets district of Venice and police officers who injured some people. Including Tommy Djaedja who was taken to the hospital.
