From right: Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Morocco's King Mohammed VI and his son Crown Prince Moulay at the Armistice Day in France yesterday

Armistice Day Macron urges world leaders to reject nationalism

Daily Graphic Nov - 12 - 2018 , 11:09

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged world leaders marking the centenary of the World War One Armistice to reject nationalism. Addressing leaders in Paris — including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — he described it as a "betrayal of patriotism".

"By saying 'our interests first and never mind the others' you stamp out the most precious thing a nation has - its moral values," he said.
Events were taking place worldwide, the BBC has reported.

Some 9.7 million soldiers and 10 million civilians died in World War One from 1914 to 1918.

Mr Macron and dignitaries marched to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial to France's fallen under the Arc de Triomphe, in the rain under black umbrellas as church bells tolled through the city.

In a speech lasting nearly 20 minutes, the French leader called on fellow leaders to "fight for peace".

"Ruining this hope with a fascination for withdrawal, violence or domination would be a mistake for which future generations would rightly find us responsible," he said.

The service ended with the bugle call that was played at 11:00 on November 11, 1918 to signal the end of hostilities on the Western Front.

Mr Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a peace conference — the Paris Peace Forum — with leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Last Saturday, Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel visited the town of Compiègne, north of Paris. They signed a book of remembrance in a railway carriage identical to the one in which the 1918 Armistice was sealed.