A series of international leaders gathered in the driving rain on Sunday at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris with host French President Emmanuel Macron to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that brought World War One to an end.
Standing in the courtyard of the Elysee under slow and steady rain, Macron and his wife Brigitte welcomed some 70 monarchs, heads of state and prime ministers.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres were among the dignitaries present.
British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prince Charles, standing in for Queen Elizabeth, attended a separate remembrance event in London where thousands of well-wishers also paid their respects to fallen soldiers.
After church bells rang out across France, the leaders sat together at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe for a memorial that included a performance by star cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the reading aloud of letters by WWI soldiers.
The ceremony started with the French president saying that nationalist leaders threaten to erase a nation’s moral values by putting their own interests first regardless of the effects on others, ended with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying voters will turn for easy answers and scapegoats.
“The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death,” Macron said. “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism.”
Macron’s speech was seen by many as a repudiation of Trump’s “America First” policies and rhetoric, as well as the recent surge of nationalism seen in Europe and elsewhere.
“In saying ‘Our interests first, whatever happens to the others,’ you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it live, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: Its moral values”, the speech stated.
> Shatabdi Sarker Poushi
World Leaders Gather In Paris For WWI Armistice Centenary
