‘Old demons are reawakening’: France’s Macron warns of rising nationalism during Remembrance Day ceremony for world leaders
- Heads of state and royalty gathered in French capital to mark 100 years since the armistice that ended the first world war
President Emmanuel Macron led tributes to the millions of soldiers killed in first world war on Sunday, using an emotional ceremony in Paris attended by scores of world leaders to warn against nationalism a century on from the conflict.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and dozens of monarchs, princes, presidents and prime ministers joined Macron to mark the moment the guns fell silent across Europe 100 years earlier.
Under grey skies and gently falling rain, many heads of state joined Macron in walking the last stretch of the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, where the ceremony was held. Trump and Putin arrived slightly later in separate motorcades.
In a 20-minute address delivered beside the tomb of the unknown soldier, Macron described the “unimaginable hell” of those who fought in the trenches, denouncing the nationalism that fanned the flames of war and now shows signs of resurgence.
Macron spoke bluntly of the threat from nationalism, calling it a betrayal of moral values. Trump, who has described himself as a nationalist and has promoted what he calls an “America First” policy, sat a few feet away, stony-faced.