World Leaders Have Gathered To Mark WWI Armistice Centenary

Reuters

2018-11-11T11:32:35+00:00

Some 70 world leaders gathered under rainy skies at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday for a solemn ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and dozens of monarchs, presidents and prime ministers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and beyond joined French President Emmanuel Macron to mark the moment guns fell silent across Europe a century ago.

US President Donald J. Trump (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as he arrives to attend the international ceremony for the Centenary of the WWI Armistice. Image: EPA

The commemoration is the centerpiece of global tributes to honor the 10 million soldiers who were killed during the 1914-18 war and the moment the Armistice, signed in northeastern France, came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and French First Lady Brigitte Macron (R) attend the international ceremony for the Centenary of the WWI Armistice. Image: EPA

As Trump’s convoy was making its way up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, a bare-breasted protester from the Femen radical feminist group ran towards his motorcade, coming within a few meters, before being apprehended by police.

Photographs of the incident appeared to show that she had the words “fake peacemaker” scrawled across her body.

Police officers detain a protester who tried to jump into the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump on his way to the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of World War One at the Arc de Triomphe. Image: Reuters

In a glass canopy at the foot of the triumphal arch, built by Emperor Napoleon in 1806, the leaders stood for the solemn ceremony. The last to arrive was Russia’s Putin, who shook hands with Macron, Merkel and then Trump, briefly giving the U.S. leader a thumbs up.

rench President Emmanuel Macron (C) delivers a speech during the international ceremony for the Centenary of the WWI Armistice. Image: EPA

Macron stood to attention as a military band played the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, before walking through the rain to inspect troops. He then took his place under the Arc while cellist Yo-Yo Ma played a movement from a Bach symphony.