French president lays wreath under Arc de Triomphe to remember war dead on Armistice Day
PARIS - President Francois Hollande is reviewing troops around Paris' iconic Arc de Triomphe and laying a wreath on the tomb of the unknown solider beneath the arch to commemorate France's war dead.
Nov. 11 marks the signing of the truce that ended the fighting in World War I and had previously been reserved for remembering the more than 1 million French soldiers killed in that war.
Hollande was accompanied Sunday by the children of soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan — a nod to the country's decision to commemorate all of its war dead on Armistice Day.
Later in the day, Hollande paid homage to students who defied a German order not to commemorate the Armistice in 1940, when northern France was under occupation.
