France's Panthéon to honour 'Four Lives in Résistance'

Four heroes of the French wartime Résistance will be inducted on Wednesday into the legendary Panthéon, the Paris mausoleum that honours those who have made significant contributions to French society, France 24 reported.

In February 2014, President François Hollande announced the addition of four new names to France’s legendary Panthéon, the neoclassical Paris mausoleum that serves as the final resting place for illustrious French writers, artists and scientists.

The two women and two men, who opposed the wartime German occupation – Germaine Tillion,Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Jean Zay and Pierre Brossolette – "embodied the values of France during their time on earth", Hollande said.

"I wanted the spirit of the Résistance to be celebrated," he added.

The ashes of Zay and Brossolette, and earth from the gravesites of de Gaulle-Anthonioz and Tillion, will be inducted into the Panthéon in a ceremony on Wednesday, May 27, France’s National Day of Résistance. They join 71 other celebrated French citizens already in the crypt, including the likes of Rousseau, Voltaire and Marie Curie.

It is the first time that female heroes of the Résistance will be honored by the Panthéon.

The mausoleum is also holding an exhibit dedicated to the lives of these Résistance fighters.

"The goal is to enable visitors, who may not be very familiar with the history of the Résistance and the lives of these four heroes, to get to know them better and to better understand their journey,” said Philippe Belaval, president of the National Monuments Centre.