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Paris marked the 80th anniversary of its liberation from World War II German forces on Sunday with a memorial service, a military parade and a flag-raising at the Eiffel Tower.
On August 25, 1944, the French 2nd Armored Division, under the command of General Philippe Leclerc de Hautecroix, entered the capital, ending the 1,500-day German occupation.
Their triumphant arrival followed a turbulent week of uprisings, strikes, barricades and street battles by French Resistance fighters and the occupying forces.
On Sunday, the parade followed the French division’s route from the south of the capital to the city center.
Under the watchful eyes of the surviving veterans of the 2nd Armored Division, vintage military vehicles appeared in the parade.
President Emmanuel Macron presided over the commemorations, which were also attended by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and prominent cultural figures including American actor Jodie Foster.
“Beyond all our differences and contradictions, the French are united. Free, faithful to the great achievements that have been made, and determined to achieve more together,” Macron said in his speech.
An actor in wartime uniform parades in a wartime military vehicle during a reenactment marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from Germany. Photo: Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP.The torch for the Paris Paralympic Games, which opened on Wednesday, is lit before a flyover by the French Air Force fighter unit, Patrouille de France.
The French flag was raised at the foot of the Eiffel Tower early Sunday to honor the firefighters who replaced the Nazi flag that had flown for four years at noon on the Eiffel Tower with the French tricolor 80 years ago.
Sunday’s events were the culmination of a week of celebrations in and around Paris that matched the length of the week of fighting before the German surrender of Paris in 1944.
On Saturday, a tribute was held to the 160 soldiers of the “New Army”, mainly composed of Spanish Republican troops, who were the first to enter Paris on the evening of August 24.
On Saturday evening, Paris’s Hôtel de Ville hosted a brass band performance, a concert and a dance.
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