Paris commemorates 80th anniversary of liberation in WWII
French Air Patrol flies to display the colors of the French flag during a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris next to the Denfert Rocherau Square, in Paris on August 25, 2024. Agence France-Presse
PARIS — Paris on Sunday celebrated the 80th anniversary of its liberation from German troops in World War II with tributes, military marches and the hoisting of a flag at the Eiffel Tower.
On August 25, 1944, the 2nd French Armored Division entered the capital under the command of General Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, ending 1,500 days of German occupation.
Their triumphant arrival followed a tumultuous week of uprisings, strikes, combat at barricades and street battles between French Resistance fighters and occupying forces.
READ: AP Was There: Allied forces liberate Paris from Nazis
On Sunday a parade followed one of the itineraries of the French division from the south of the capital to its centre.
Article continues after this advertisementThe parade featured vintage military vehicles, as surviving veterans of the 2nd Armored Division looked on.
Article continues after this advertisementPresident Emmanuel Macron led the commemoration, also attended by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and an audience including prominent cultural figures including American actor Jodie Foster.
READ: 75 years later, US World War II veterans say: Never forget
“Beyond all divisions and contradictions, to be French is to be together,” Macron said in a speech. “Free, and true to the great things that have been achieved and determined to achieve more together.”
A torch for the Paris Paralympics, which open Wednesday, was lit, ahead of a flyover by the Patrouille de France, a unit of French air force fighter planes.
Earlier Sunday, the French flag was raised under the Eiffel Tower in memory of firefighters who at midday 80 years ago took down the Nazi flag that had been flying there for four years, and replaced it with the tricolor.
Sunday’s events were the culmination of a week of festivities in and around the capital, matching in length the week of fighting in 1944 before the Germans surrendered Paris.
On Saturday, there was a tribute to the 160 men of “La Nueve”, mostly made up of Spanish republican forces, who were the first to enter Paris on the evening of August 24.
On Saturday night, Paris city hall was the venue for a brass band performance, a concert and a dance.
