All the countries involved in the First World War have been invited to take part in France’s annual Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysées in Paris.
President François Hollande says the traditional military display on 14th July 2014 will be accompanied by a mass demonstration for peace. .
In a break with tradition, more than 70 countries are being invited to participate. All had an involvement in the Great War. Mr Hollande said: “They will be gathered on the occasion of an unprecedented national holiday, because it will be international.
“There will be soldiers with their uniforms and flags, but young people will also be taking part in a mass demonstration for peace.”
Mr Hollande also announced that tribute would be paid to all veterans of the war on Armistice Day 2014, with the opening of an international memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette, the French military cemetery near Arras.
It will honour 600,000 soldiers who fell on the Western Front in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Their names will be listed in alphabetical order, regardless of nationality..
Mr Hollande said: “It is true these young men died for their country, fighting one another. In the name of common humanity they will now be together, side by side.”
Key French Commemoration Dates in 2014
July 14th 2014: International Bastille Day Parade on the Champs Elysées in Paris, involving more than 70 countries.
August 3rd 2014: Commemorations marking 100th anniversary of France’s entry into the First World War.
September 2014: Events marking the centenary of the Battle of the Marne, which halted the German advance on Paris in 1914.
November 11th 2014: Inauguration of international memorial to the fallen at Notre Dame de Lorette, near Arras.
Source: The Élysée Palace
Images: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News