French President Francois Hollande is to underline the need for European unity at a ceremony in Verdun today to honor those killed in one of the bloodiest battles of World War I 100 years ago.
To mark the centenary, Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to lay wreaths at cemeteries holding the dead of both sides in the northeast French town.
The 1916 offensive lasted 300 days and claimed more than 300,000 lives.
Photo: AFP
Hollande is to emphasize the need for joint action at a time when the EU is under pressure from the refugee crisis and a possible British exit.
In the run-up to the ceremony, he recalled the moment during the 1984 commemoration that former French president Francois Mitterrand and the then-chancellor of West Germany Helmut Kohl joined hands during the playing of the French national anthem.
“Mitterrand’s gesture with Helmut Kohl, the hands that reached out and found each other, that’s the symbol of reconciliation,” he told French radio this week.
Photo: AFP
Now was the time for both countries’ leaders to spell out what they wanted to do for Europe at this moment, a time when the continent was in the grip of the “evil of populism.”
That appeared to be a reference to European parties that have made advances in several countries.
In Austria earlier this month, the Freedom Party candidate missed winning the presidency by the narrowest of margins.
Underlining his drive for European unity, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is also to attend today’s ceremony.
Hollande and Merkel are to start by visiting the German military cemetery at Consenvoye, just north of Verdun.
At a lunch, the two leaders are to discuss the crisis caused by the hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge in Europe and the June 23 British referendum on whether to quit the EU.
Both leaders are to give short speeches to touch on the current challenges facing Europe.
Then they are to attend a ceremony at the Douaumont ossuary, where the remains of 130,000 soldiers, French and German, lie underground.
It was here in September 1984 that Mitterrand and Kohl made their symbolic gesture to reaffirm Franco-German friendship.
Today’s ceremony is to feature more than 3,000 children from France and Germany in a presentation choreographed by German filmmaker Volker Schloendorff.
Church bells are to ring in memory of the soldiers who died on both sides.
Preparations for this year’s ceremony were marred by a row over a concert due to be given by Black M, a popular rapper in France who is accused of writing anti-Semitic and homophobic lyrics.
Verdun Mayor Samuel Hazard canceled the gig, joining critics who said an appearance by a man who describes France as a land of “unbelievers” was an insult to the memory of those killed.
French Minister for War Veterans Jean-Marc Todeschini accused the mayor of giving in to pressure.
Those who fought and died in Verdun came “from all social backgrounds, from all continents, of all religions,” he said.
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday. The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to a traveler camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast. Girac told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt .45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, a source said. On Thursday, regional prosecutor Olivier Janson said, citing the singer, that he wanted to “fake” his suicide
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his pledge to replace India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code if he returns to office for a third term, a move that some minority groups have opposed. In an interview with the Times of India listing his agenda, Modi said his government would push for making the code a reality. “It is clear that separate laws for communities are detrimental to the health of society,” he said in the interview published yesterday. “We cannot be a nation where one community is progressing with the support of the Constitution while the other