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France/Germany - Armistice Day commemorations
Sarkozy and Merkel commemorate Armistice Day in Paris
Article published on the 2009-11-11 Latest update 2009-11-11 14:21 TU
President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
(Photo: Reuters)
Central Paris came to a standstill on Wednesday morning as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined thousands of Parisians at the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate Armistice Day.
The two leaders, flanked by soldiers from a Franco-German Brigade and officers from both countries' armed forces, observed a silence at 11am, remembering the moment on 11 November 1918 when Germany signed an Armistice Treaty with its Allied foes to end World War I.
"We are not commemorating the victory of one people over another but an ordeal that was equally terrible for each side," said Sarkozy.
German leaders have attended memorial events in France before, most notably when chancellor Helmut Kohl took president Francois Mitterrand's hand in Verdun, but Merkel's visit was the first time a German leader attended the ceremony in Paris.
Sarkozy and Merkel laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and rekindled the flame on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
"We cannot wipe out the past but there is a force which can help us to bear it: the power of reconciliation," Merkel said in a speech which, like Sarkozy's, emphasised the two countries central role in European Union.
"We show other countries in the world that it is possible to rise above the pain of the past," said Merkel.
Each leader ended their speech with the words: "Long live France, long live Germany, long live Franco-German friendship".
Sarkozy, who was in Berlin on Monday for the 20th anniversary of the end of the Wall, said this week he wanted to make 11 November "a day of French-German reconciliation in order to build a shared future."
There were no French veterans at the commemoration. The last of them, Lazare Ponticelli, died last year at the age of 110.
