World leaders mark 100 years since WWI Armistice in Paris

PARIS: World leaders gathered in Paris will lead global commemorations on Sunday to mark 100 years since the end of World War I at a time of growing nationalism and diplomatic tensions.

Around 70 leaders including US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice in the French capital.

Ceremonies in New Zealand and Australia marked the beginning of the 11th anniversary of the world, and huge crowds paid tribute to the more than 80,000 servicemen and women who gave their lives in the Great War.

"For our tomorrows, they gave their today," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Remembrance Day National Ceremony in Canberra.

The Paris Commemorations, 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 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.

A Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a conference called the Paris Peace Forum which will take place after a memorial service on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday morning.

Conceived by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Forum is intended to highlight the importance of international institutions in conflict resolution, war wars and spread prosperity.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth will attend a separate event in London.

Lurk tensions

Despite the show of unity at the Arc de Triomphe, where schoolchildren will read the message, tensions are expected to lurk beneath the surface.

US President Donald Trump, whose hardline nationalism has badly shaken the Western alliance, arrived in Paris on Friday criticizing Macron for being "insulting."

Trump took umbrage at a recent interview in which Macron discussed the need for a European army and the US as a threat to national security.

The "America First" leader, who has been criticized by the US for the rainy weather, will snub the Paris Peace Forum.

Other speakers include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Israel's Benyamin Netanyahu, as well as Putin.

With far-right nationalist politicians coming to power from Brazil to Italy to 40-year-old centrist Macron is set to invoke the international cooperation.

"We want to make these commemorations a time to reflect on the present, not just the past, so they have a meaning for us today," said Macron said earlier this week.

He will deliver a short speech during Sunday's ceremony, which organizers have made deliberately international and cross-cultural.

The French-born Chinese-American cellist Yo-yo My will perform, as will West African singer Angelique Kidjo, and a European youth orchestra with a Russian conductor.

Some 10,000 police have been drafted in to ensure maximum security in a city by jihadists 2015.

Macron is also set to speak at a cultural body UNESCO and at the Peace Forum.

The Forum is part of the "fightback" against nationalism worldwide, chief organizer Justin Vaisse told AFP as he played down the significance of Trump's decision not to wait.

"The aim of the forum is one of the world's leading systems – states, NGOs, foundations, intellectuals, companies – who believe we need a world of rules," he said. .

Other ceremonies

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 more likely to be killed than others.

Between five and 10 million civilians are estimated to have been killed.

In Britain, church at the heart of the country at 11 am, at the same time as a national remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London.