Ever since November 2017—the beginning of reflections on a memorial for victims of terrorism, with the establishment of a Memorial Committee within the Délégation interministérielle à l’aide des victimes [inter-ministerial delegation for victim support] — victims’ associations have actively contributed to plans to create a site of remembrance.
Associations were interviewed over the course of 2018. As time went on, they weighed in often, particularly on visits with planners to sites where attacks had been committed.
After the first preliminary report was submitted in March 2020, victims’ associations took on a more official role, as members of the Advisory Committee for the newly formed GIP. This committee is chaired by François Molins. Alongside expert figures, this body plays a decisive role through its proposals and opinions. It is consulted on development ideas for the Museum and Memorial of Terrorism initiative and on its main lines. These are presented to the body by the chair of the advisory committee and the group’s general director. If necessary, these presentations can be attended by any other member of the group’s leadership team. The Advisory Committee’s opinions and recommendations are communicated by its chair to the chair of the general assembly, the group director, and the chair of the scientific and cultural board.
Victims’ associations actively participate in planning national remembrance days for victims of terrorism, every year on March 11th, and they have done so since that date was first established 2020.
Chair: Philippe Duperron
Created in January 2016 by victims and loved ones of the November 13, 2015, attack in Paris and Saint-Denis, this association works to improve the immediate rescue and care system for victims, the victim identification system, and the family alert system.
Victims’ Association of the Musée du Bardo
Chair: Françoise Vernet
This association works to defend the memory of attack victims.
Association française des victimes du terrorisme (AFVT)
Chair: François Zimeray
Association whose mission is to provide legal, social, and administrative assistance to victims of terrorism after an attack, as well as throughout legal proceedings. The AfVT also organizes victim presentations/testimonies in middle schools and high schools, associations, and prisons.
Fédération nationale des victimes d’attentats et d’accidents collectifs (FENVAC)
Chair: Marie-Claude Desjeux
Through its initiatives, FENVAC seeks to promote collective security generally and in the event of an accident or act of terrorism. FENVAC intervenes to provide victims with support and assistance.
Chair: Maryse Le Men Régnier
Established in 1986 (INAVEM), this organization became a federation in June 2004 and changed its name in 2017. France Victimes is an umbrella organization that includes 130 associations for victims’ support throughout France. It receives funding from several ministries: notably, the Ministry of Justice.
Life for Nice : 14 juillet 2016
Co-Chair: Jean-Claude Hubler
This organization is made up of victims from the July 14, 2016, attack in Nice. Its mission is to assist victims and their families, creating a space for dialogue, sharing, and solidarity. It works to improve systems of care for victims.
Chair: Arthur Dénouveaux
This association works to improve care for victims of terrorism.
Chair: Anne Murris
Mémorial des Anges was established in memory of the victims of the attack of July 14, 2016, who were killed on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, and for the creation of a Memorial Museum in Nice, a center of research with a strong educational mission, and to fight terrorism and prevent radicalization.
Promenade des Anges - 14 juillet 2016
Collegial Governance
Created on August 11, 2016, in the wake of the terrorist attack of July 14, 2016, in Nice, this association gained general interest status in 2018. Its primary missions are aiding and supporting victims, paying tribute and remembering, and legal action.
Strasbourg - Des larmes au sourire
Chair: Mokhtar Naghchband
This association works in the service of the remembrance and memory of dramatic events, to allow for physical and mental healing for victims, and to promote individual and collective resilience.
