This Monday marks the 106th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer commemorated on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The two leaders thus celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between France and the United Kingdom, signed on April 8, 1904 to resolve colonial disputes between hereditary enemies.
Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer spoke early this morning at the Élysée. On Ukraine, according to the French presidency, they reaffirmed “their determination to support [Kiev] unwaveringly and for as long as necessary” while the continuation of military aid from the United States seems more than ever called into question with the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Between the Marseillaise and “God save The King”
They also reiterated their wish to “continue their efforts with all regional and international partners” for the return of peace to the Middle East and to continue their cooperation on “migration in the Channel, in particular in the face of drug trafficking networks. “human beings,” added the Élysée.
The French President and the British Prime Minister were then welcomed by Prime Minister Michel Barnier on the Champs-Élysées. A few steps from the presidential palace, they laid a wreath in front of the statue of Georges Clemenceau, then in front of that of Winston Churchill, before the English anthem, “God Save The King”, and the Marseillaise sounded.
The beautiful part ofFranco-British friendship
They then reviewed the French troops aboard a military command car on the Place de l'Etoile, laid a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe and rekindled the Flame. The two leaders finally greeted French and British veterans, before a parade of the Republican Guard.
“For our war wounded. For our orphans, our widows and widowers of soldiers who fell for France. For our veterans, heroes of yesterday. For our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen, heroes of today,” the head of state wrote on X. On November 11, 1944, General de Gaulle and Winston Churchill commemorated the Armistice under the Arc de Triomphe for the first time since the liberation of France. “Franco-British friendship comes from far away and has experienced trials. It will be valuable in facing the challenges that lie ahead of us,” Michel Barnier underlined on X.
In the afternoon, the Prime Minister will inaugurate a reconstructed trench at the Museum of the Great War in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne). Out in the open, the educational work allows you to understand the complex organization of this military system, made up of different strategic posts, and to learn more about the very difficult daily life of soldiers.
