Abandoned families
After the solemn ceremony in the presence of the head of state, the families would never receive the slightest information about the Minerva.
Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, spouses and children will be kept in ignorance.
No psychological or other support will be provided to them.
Many families will be broken, or wounded long after the tragedy.
Some loved ones will bear eternal mourning, heavy as a lead weight , suffocating for those around them.
Deep conflicts will separate young widows, eager to rebuild their lives, from the families of their deceased husbands, who are determined to preserve the memory of the deceased by confining them to a life of endless widowhood. The bonds between the children of the deceased and their grandparents will be severed, irreparably and sometimes permanently.
Resentment would arise against those who, directly or indirectly, were perceived as responsible for the missing sailor's involvement in the submarines. When this "culprit" was a close relative, the pain would turn into a deep and silent family fracture.
Quarrels, sometimes persistent, will end up dispersing formerly close-knit siblings.
Some loved ones, whether they are parents or not, will sink into despair, even going so far as to end their lives, while others will lose themselves in the twists and turns of alcoholism.
Young widows or fiancées, lost in their solitude, will throw themselves into the arms of the first people they meet, to unite with men with whom they will not know happiness.
As for the pregnant but unrecognized companions, they will rush to marry another man to give a name to the unborn child, who will grow up in the shadow of silence, ignorant of the tragic fate of his real father.
On the causes of the tragedy
The ‘Minerve’ file was automatically classified as ‘Secret Défense’ (Defence Secret), as is always the case when there is a military accident.
In the name of this defence secret, the only way to get an idea of what may have happened is to consult two issues of the maritime magazine, published under the control of the French Navy.
You can download (in French only) on this page.
This publication was confidential and very few families were aware of it. Even journalists were unaware of it.
On the administrative level
On this front, there were no problems. The sailors were officially declared missing by a court ruling on 22 March 1968, which can be considered swift. This allowed the families to avoid the administrative hassles often associated with disappearances.
The legitimate children of the sailors were entitled to an education allowance, but not to the status of wards of the nation. Children born out of wedlock, at least two of them, were not entitled to anything.
Memorial plaques on monuments
Most other requests for inclusion on war memorials were rejected because they were not ‘Died for France’.
It is only since the Karachi attack on 8 May 2022 that the names of those who died in the service of France can appear on war memorials. However, the law authorising this is not retroactive and does not cover 1968.
Since 2013, such requests could be successful, but it is still up to the families to take the necessary steps.
After 1970 and the disappearance of the Eurydice, two memorial stones were erected in memory of the crews of the four submarines lost off the Var coast: the SM2326, the Sybille, the Minerve and the Eurydice. One is in the church of Ramatuelle, the other in the garden of the Camarat semaphore station.
It was not until 2009 and the inauguration of the National Submariners‘ Monument in Toulon that all the crew members had their names engraved on a monument. See HERE
Since the discovery of the wreck, the situation has been resolved, as you can see by going to the ’Commemorations" page.
