Some destinies are unlike any other. Such is the case of this Lyon native born in 1886, who spent his entire life defending a certain ideal. Through arms, certainly, but also through the written word. More than 80 years after his death, Marc Bloch continues to write history. And in 2026, more than ever.
Marc Bloch, a hero of Lyon
Following the announcement of a biopic about Jean Moulin ( the most Lyonnais non-Lyonnais in history), the capital of Gaul will once again be in the spotlight next June when Marc Bloch is inducted into the Pantheon.
If we had to sum up Marc Bloch’s career, we could say that it was the antithesis of routine and boredom. Like his father, he was passionate about history and became a professor, earning all the highest distinctions (agrégé, member of the history department, lecturer at the Sorbonne, etc.) and working throughout France, in Amiens, Montpellier, and Strasbourg. His books and work left their mark on his discipline, making him one of the greatest historians of his time.
When World War I broke out, he fought on the front lines as a simple sergeant, and was twice decorated with the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre at the end of the conflict. His dedication remained intact, and when World War II broke out, he secretly joined the ranks of the Resistance. Marc Bloch was arrested on March 8, 1944, on the Pont de la Boucle (Churchill Bridge) in Lyon by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Montluc. Despite numerous torture sessions, the resistance fighter never betrayed his comrades and even secretly gave history lessons to the other prisoners. His fate changed on June 16, 1944, when he was shot along with 27 other resistance fighters…
The Pantheon, “To great men, the grateful homeland”
Being interred in the Pantheon is the highest honor there is. Only 82 personalities rest in this hallowed place of French memory. Victor Hugo, Josephine Baker, Jean Moulin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Marie Curie… “To great men (and women), the grateful homeland, “ reads the inscription on the pediment of the building.
Robert Badinter was the last to enter the Pantheon for his work on the abolition of the death penalty. Before him, it was Missak Manouchian, another great resistance fighter, who also entered to join the great names of our history. The ceremony marking Marc Bloch’s entry next June should remind us never to forget…