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US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and dozens of other world leaders joined France’s Emmanuel Macron in commemorating the centenary of the end of World War I in a solemn ceremony in Paris on Sunday.
The ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe war memorial on the Champs-Elysees marked the culmination of events for the 100th anniversary of the end of the four-year onflict which claimed 18 million lives.
Macron led dozens of heads of state and government including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on foot towards a viewing stand at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triopmhe.
Trump and Putin arrived separately from other leaders at the commemorations, which took place in the rain.
Minutes before the start of the ceremony two bad protesters from the radical feminist group Femen attempted to waylay Trump’s motorcade as it rolled up the Champs-Elysees. They were immediately overpowered by police.
Putin was one of the last to take his place among the ceremony, on the front row next to Macron’s wife Brigitte.
Putin shook hands on arrival with Trump, and Trump also shook hands with Merkel and some of the other leaders placed next to him but pointedly did not extend a hand to Trudeau, whom he disparaged earlier this year as “dishonest and weak”.
About 70 current-day nations were involved in the conflict that had six empires and colonial powers at its heart: Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
Around 10 million soldiers are generally estimated to have been killed during the fighting and more than double that number wounded overall.
Between five and 10 million civilians are estimated to have been killed.
Over 3,400 people, including veterans of the armed forces of France and its allies, were invited to the ceremony, which began with a rendition of the Marseillaise and a review by Macron of cadets from France’s military schools.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged dozens of world leaders marking a century since the end of World War I to come together for a joint “fight for peace”.
“Let us build our hopes rather than playing our fears against each other,” he told leaders including the US and Russian presidents, gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Cadets from West Point military academy in the US took part in the commemorations, alongside members of France’s Republican Guard resplendent in plumed hats and uniforms red epaulettes.
French-born Chinese American cellist Yo-Yo Ma played a Sarabande from Bach’s 5th cello suite and schoolchildren read accounts of soldiers from eight countries who served in the war, in their native language.
There were also tributes to troops from African countries, with Beninese star Angelique Kidjo performing a song to lives lost on behalf of the former colonial power.
The rain added to the solemnity of the occasion, with Macron eschewing an umbrella as he remembered the suffering of those who fought in the so-called “war to end all wars” in a speech.
On Saturday, Trump cited the bad weather for his decision to cancel a visit to an American cemetery in northern France — a decision for which drew criticism.
The Paris commemorations, centred on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, are set to feature warnings about the modern-day danger of nationalism.
“This day is not just about remembering, but should be about a call to action,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday after visiting the forest clearing in eastern France where the Armistice was signed.
Merkel will give the opening address alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a conference called the Paris Peace Forum which will take place after the memorial service on Sunday morning.
Conceived by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Forum is intended to highlight the importance of international institutions in helping resolve conflicts, avert wars and spread prosperity.
British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth will attend a separate event in London.
But despite the show of unity at the Arc de Triomphe, where school children read out messages written by soldiers in eight languages, tensions lurked beneath the surface.
US President Donald Trump, whose hardline nationalism has badly shaken the Western alliance, arrived in Paris on Friday criticizing host Macron for being “insulting.”
Trump took umbrage at a recent interview in which Macron talked about the need for a European army and listed the US along with Russia and China as a threat to national security.
The “America First” leader will snub the Paris Peace Forum.
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