National memorial to the sailors who died for France

The Mémorial national des marins morts pour la France is a monument to the memory of sailors who died for France, located on Pointe Saint-Mathieu.
In the aftermath of the 14-18 war, Admiral GUÉPRATTE, hero of the Dardanelles, reminded his colleagues that the only shroud for sailors lost at sea was the ocean, and that they deserved to be honored.

"All points on the French coastline seem worthy of the honor of glorifying the sailors who have disappeared. But there's one that stands out all by itself, and that's Pointe Saint Mathieu, which juts out like a prow into the sea.

The monument was built on this magnificent site and inaugurated on June 12, 1927. The chosen project was that of René QUILLIVIC, a sculptor from the Finistère region - originally from Plouhinec - who specialized in funerary mummies. He chose to evoke the victims through the expression of pain. And so it is the face of a grieving woman, mother or wife, that we find at the top of this 17-meter stele, which overlooks the memorial. The face of the mater dolorosa gazing tearfully at the sea that took away her husband or child seems to express the expectation of the return of her loved one.

The Pointe Saint-Mathieu Cenotaph, an integral part of the national memorial to the sailors who died for France, welcomes 100,000 visitors every year. Inside the Cenotaph, a register is open. Here, visitors can express their feelings. As you visit the memorial and its surroundings, we invite you to discover some of the messages from the visitors' book.