Safu ya Ushindi, War memorial in Saint-Denis, Réunion
The Colonne de la Victoire stands in the middle of the crossroads formed by Avenue de la Victoire, Rue de Paris and Rue de la Compagnie, beside Saint-Denis town hall. Its shaft of white granite from Bécon-les-Granits in Maine-et-Loire is crowned by a winged Victory in white Carrara marble holding a laurel wreath. A bronze relief at the foot shows a rooster on a helmet surrounded by flags, and artillery shells form part of the chain enclosure.
Plans for a war memorial in Saint-Denis date from 1918. Rather than hold a competition, the city ordered a white granite column from the catalogue of the Société des marbreries générales de Paris, quarried at Bécon-les-Granits in Maine-et-Loire. Installation was directed by municipal engineer Auguste Bénard, and the monument was inaugurated on 23 December 1923. In 1941 an urn of French soil was sealed inside it, and the years 1939–1945 were later added below the dates of the First World War.
The column stands as a central gathering place for official ceremonies and remembrance observances, especially during the annual November 11th commemorations. Residents and officials gather here to honor the fallen and mark the island's connection to France.
The memorial sits at a busy intersection where several main streets converge in the city center. Visitors can view the monument from multiple angles as they pass through downtown or observe the flow of traffic around it.
The names of the fallen are not on the column itself but in the hall of the town hall beside it. In 1941 an urn of French soil was sealed inside the monument, and the years 1939–1945 were later added below the 1914–1918 inscription.
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