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On the occasion of the ceremonies of 11-November, the French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated this Monday a monument in tribute to the fallen soldiers in external operation.
In the park André-Citroën, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, now stands a monument dedicated to French soldiers died in "Opex" . The high bronze sculpture depicts six soldiers - five men and a woman - with a cap, cap or cap on the head. The serious face, they carry an invisible coffin, symbol of emptiness and absence.
Next to it, 549 names are engraved on a wall. These are those soldiers killed by the enemy or died as a result of war wounds, illnesses or accidents on the 17 theaters of foreign operations since 1963, the end of the war in Algeria, including 141 in Lebanon, 129 in Chad, 85 in Afghanistan and 78 in the former Yugoslavia.
In a grave and solemn tone, French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the "supreme sacrifice" of these soldiers, in the presence of families who have come by hundreds to honor the memory of their loved ones. " Soldiers, sailors, dead airmen for France, you who participated in writing history, we have erected in your honor this monument that carries your memory. On this wall, in the stone, we engraved your memory. Your nobility, your heroism are there. You agree to give your life so that others live, "he said.
In the morning, the Head of State chaired the traditional commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the Armistice with a wreath laying in front of the statue of Georges Clemenceau, the ascent of the Champs-Elysées with the great escort of the Republican Guard and the reviving the flame of the Unknown Soldier. He then had lunch at the Élysée with flag bearers and the presidents of veterans associations.
On Monday night, Emmanuel Macron was to host some of the 30 or so heads of state and government attending the second Paris Peace Forum. Before dinner, he was to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.