The Daily Herald – Schoelcher legacy remembered during speeches at Grand Case Fête

BIG CASE–The official part of the Victor Schoelcher party, also known as the Grand Case party, will go down in history on Sunday as one of the shortest with only two speeches, as the president of the Collectivité Louis Mussington, some territorial councilors and other usual speakers were on vacation.

It was therefore up to the third vice-president Dominique Louisy and prefect Vincent Berton to deliver the speeches on the occasion of this event, which focused on the legacy of the abolitionists Victor Schoelcher and François-Auguste Perrinon.

“The Grand Case Fête became the Victor Schoelcher Fête at a time in the history of our islands when everyone was singing the praises of Victor Schoelcher as the great liberator who put an end to slavery in the French territories in the Caribbean,” said Louisy.

“But besides Victor Schoelcher, there was François-Auguste Perrinon from Martinique, an abolitionist (member of parliament – ​​ed.) member of parliament who died in the late 19^e century, based in Saint-Martin, in the salt mines of Grand Case,” she recalled. “Here he began to observe slave labor and drew conclusions, which he used to demonstrate that free labor was possible.

“Slavery was not a necessity. He wrote that ‘morally untenable, slavery is economically an aberration.’ This document was decisive in contributing to the abolition of slavery in the French West Indies in 1848.

“Today I think it is more important to focus on the Fête de Grand Case, the neighbourhood, its people and its history, and to reflect on the traditional and political dimension of what we are celebrating together today.”

Earlier, before the parade, elected officials and members of the Grand Case community who attended the ecumenical church service were able to see firsthand the restoration work that has already been completed at the Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church. The work will be fully completed by the end of this summer.

During a presentation of the Collectivité’s development work, the public was able to discover the future landscape promenade, which will create a green corridor around the church with shady green spaces.

President Mussington congratulated the architect and the various contractors, each in their own field, in his absence. “We will soon be able to initiate actions to promote and preserve the heritage of the Grand Case district, as has long been requested.”