PARIS, November 11
French President Emmanuel Macron led tributes to the millions of soldiers killed during World War I on Sunday, holding an emotional ceremony in Paris attended by dozens of world leaders to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and dozens of monarchs, princes, presidents and prime ministers joined Macron to mark the moment guns fell silent across Europe a century ago.
Those who fought in the trenches of World War I lived through an unimaginable hell, Macron said in a 20-minute address. “The lesson of the Great War cannot be that of resentment between peoples, nor should the past be forgotten,” said Macron. “It is our deeply rooted obligation to think of the future, and to consider what is essential.”
The commemoration is the centrepiece of global tributes to honour those who died during the 1914-18 war and to commemorate the signing of the Armistice that brought the fighting to an end at 11 am on November 11, 1918.
In a rare public display of emotion, Macron and Merkel held hands on Saturday during a poignant ceremony in the Compiegne Forest, north of Paris, where French and German delegations signed the Armistice.
The conflict was one of the bloodiest in history, reshaping Europe’s politics and demographics. Peace, however, was short-lived. — Reuters
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