Figures of French Resistance inducted into Paris Pantheon

The coffin of French resistance figure Pierre Brossolette is carried by Republican Guards for a ceremony in the courtyard of the Sorbonne University in Paris, Tuesday May 26, 2015. The event Tuesday is part of two days of national ceremonies honoring the two women and two men, meant to symbolize French efforts against extremist violence in the past and today, four months after deadly terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) The coffin of French resistance figure Pierre Brossolette is carried by Republican Guards for a ceremony in the courtyard of the Sorbonne University in Paris, Tuesday May 26, 2015. The event Tuesday is part of two days of national ceremonies honoring the two women and two men, meant to symbolize French efforts against extremist violence in the past and today, four months after deadly terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

By Associated Press May 27, 2015 1 min read

PARIS (AP) – In a rare ceremony, France is honoring four people who resisted the Nazis during World War II by inducting them into Paris’ Pantheon mausoleum.

The highly symbolic two-day event is aimed at uniting the French against extremism and anti-Semitism after deadly attacks earlier this year. French President Francois Hollande will speak later Wednesday at the Pantheon, resting place of the nation’s heroes.

Coffins representing the two women and two men – Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Germaine Tillion, Pierre Brossolette and Jean Zay – were escorted through Paris streets for public viewing Tuesday, and will be interred Thursday.

The women’s induction is purely symbolic: Their coffins contain only soil from their gravesites, because their families didn’t want the bodies exhumed.