Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants France to commemorate all of its war dead on Armistice Day, previously reserved for remembering the soldiers who lost their lives during World War I.
Sarkozy presided over the traditional ceremony on Friday, which marks 93 years since fighting in the Great War ended.
He laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier under Paris' Arc de Triomphe and lit a flame, but strayed from convention by speaking of France's dead from all wars. He has proposed a law that will officially make Nov. 11 a day of remembrance for all fallen soldiers.
The United States and Britain have already made a similar move. The US now calls the day Veterans Day, and it is often referred to as Remembrance Day in Britain.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 00:18