The follow-up to the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary and the declassification of the Confidential Defense file
The birth of a community
After the fiftieth anniversary ceremony, La Minerve seemed destined to sink back into oblivion until the spotlight once again fell on her.
In fact, the site will catalyze a number of elements.
First, it will allow the different members of the families of sailors from the Minerve to come into contact with each other to see that they had lived isolated from each other, sharing the same pains and the same questions.
But beyond the families, it will allow the sailors, in particular those who had known the sailors of the Minerve, to show their solidarity with the families. This will result in multiple and varied aids that will help to get the file out of the impasse in which it seemed to find itself.
At the same time, the Presidency of the Republic informs that the process of declassifying the file is continuing.
The idea of resuming research
For the families, the abandonment of the search for the wreck of the Minerve had been a decision that had been taken without their knowledge.. 50 years had passed and the question of a possible recovery seemed unimaginable.
One of my contacts starts asking me about the possibility of resuming the search to locate Minerva. But the announced budget, 5 million euros, is considerable.
Declassification
On June 16, 2019, the official journal published the Order of June 4, 2018 establishing une general derogation for the consultation of public archives relating to the disappearance of the submarine "Minerve" on January 27, 1968.
Families can finally freely consult this long-awaited file.
This declassification was not automatic. The question was to be dealt with 50 years after the last document in the file, which dated from 1970, which brought us to 2020. But in 2020, a decision was needed not to renew it for a renewable period of 10 years, which is the case in more frequent. This would take us to 2030 or even 2040.
This decision will have been taken in advance by a joint commission of parliamentarians and soldiers.
This declassification is little mentioned in the press which is not interested in it:
The Rise of the Gendarmerie 19-06-2018
West France online edition 18-06-2018
