Herdenking van de 90ste verjaardag van de Wapenstilstand van 11 November 1918 (en)
The President of the French Republic and current President of the European Council will visit Douaumont (Meuse, France) on Tuesday, 11 November 2008 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. The Head of State wished to invite European Union representatives as guests of honour to the celebration.
Some 90 years after the end of the First World War, European countries are not only at peace with one another, but between them have built a sustainable Union based on reconciliation and the respect of fundamental rights. The construction of Europe has enabled them to overcome their differences by building a common future together.
The President of the European Council will be accompanied by José-Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission and Hans-Gert Pöttering, the President of the European Parliament.
Given the war’s international reach, key figures will be representing several States for whom Armistice Day has special meaning. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia and Peter Müller, President of the Bundesrat, representing the President and Chancellor of Germany, will all be present.
All the countries which currently have ambassadors posted in Paris are also invited to participate.
Programme of the Commemoration Day
PARIS
9:00 Laying of a wreath at the foot of the statue of Georges Clémenceau in the presence of François Fillon, the French Prime Minister, Bernard Accoyer, the President of the French National Assembly, Hervé Morin, the French Minister for Defence, and Jean-Marie Bockel, the French Minister of State for Defence and Veterans.
DOUAUMONT
10:45 Arrival at the National Necropolis of Douaumont (Meuse).
10:50 Military Ceremony
11:00 Laying of flowers at a grave the President of the Republic
11:15 Relighting of the flame in the cemetery by the President of the Republic, accompanied by foreign Heads of State.
11:20 Reading of two texts on the Great War by two young people from Verdun
11:25 Speech by the President of the Republic
12:00 Contemplation ceremony and the laying of a wreath at the German cemetery of Ville-devant-Chaumont