#invalides

Sarabande d'un milieu d'été. Esprit en perdition. Mou, et heureux. Absent, mais heureux. Le temps fait un allié capricieux. Je verse ici des images, comme des accompagnements platoniques. Le moral à fleur de peau. Prêt à fleurir, ou à gronder... émotions kamikazes. La musique, toujours, est d'un salut rare. Et je suis à côté, pourtant. À l'affût, mais en dehors. Est-ce une question de patience ?

Je ne suis pas dedans. Aucune intention, contemplation détachée parmi ces mots désinvestis, désœuvrés. Ensemble de lettres pour meubler le format épuré qui convoque l'attention. Des mots, sans images. Un mur. Si seulement était là une fabuleuse montagne ? Aussi immobile que déconcertante – mais outrageusement plus poétique. Un obstacle immuable, témoignant d'une séduction redoutable...

Il y aurait à la fois tant et si peu à raconter. Une humeur déchirante de joie, et de préoccupations. Ai-je tort, de m'engager ici avec cette légèreté crédule ? Mes plus grands torts découlent surtout de mon manque d'audace.

Le dome des Invalides

Live broadcast of ‘Le Sacre de Napoléon V’ on the national channel Francesim 2, hosted by Stéphane Bernard

(Stéphane Bernard) The Emperor will become a quasi-sacred figure through the anointing: it is a sort of transfiguration. The imperial canopy conceals this profoundly sacred moment because the rite must remain a mystery to the common mortals. We are witnessing a revival of the triple blessing from the Reims ceremonial of the kings of Francesim. Their Majesties, kneeling before the altar, receive the triple anointing from the Pope: one on the forehead, the others on both hands. First the Emperor, then the Empress.

In his prayer, the Pope asks God to bestow the treasures and graces of His blessings upon the Emperor. He prays that the Emperor will govern with strength, justice, loyalty, foresight, courage, and perseverance. The Emperor must combat Evil and defend the holy Christian Church. The Empress, for her part, receives God's support, and that of Christ, to preserve the Empire and the French people for eternity.

(Stéphane Bernard) Such a ceremonial highlights the spiritual and mystical dimension of the imperial monarchy. It is a moment steeped in tradition, where every gesture, every word, carries deep symbolism, reminding us of the sacred bonds that unite the sovereign to his people and to God. (Mgr. Morlot) Almighty and eternal God, who have decreed that, following the example of David, Solomon, and Joash, the foreheads of Kings and Emperors should be adorned with a diadem, so that, through the brilliance of their gemstones and the splendor of their ornaments, they might serve as a vivid and striking image of the majesty that surrounds you to the peoples while they reign on earth…

(Mgr. Morlot) … Pour out, we beseech you, your blessing upon these crowns, so that your servant Napoleon and his spouse, who will wear them on earth, may shine with the radiance of all virtues.

(Pope) May God encircle your brow with the crown of glory and justice...

(Pope) ... May He arm you with strength and courage so that, blessed by Heaven through our hands, filled with faith and good works, you may reach the crown of the eternal kingdom…

(Pope) ... By the grace of Him whose reign and empire extend throughout all ages and ages. Amen.

(Napoléon V) Amen.

⚜ Le Sacre de Napoléon V | N°11 | Francesim, Paris, 28 Thermidor An 230

While the bells ring out and the cannons roar, the Emperor and Empress of Francesim are crowned at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. It was broadcast live on television by Stéphane Bernard, the famous journalist for the crowned heads in Francesim.

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