Armistice Day Commemorations: Why the French wear a 'Bleuet"?

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00A day of remembrance so the lives lost and sacrifices made will never be forgotten.

00:06107 years after the armistice or the end of World War I, France continues to pay tribute.

00:12Bid by laying reese at the Arc de Triomphe or by wearing what's called in French a bleuée or a cornflower badge.

00:18For the past century, a charity, the bleuée of France, have raised funds for at first victims of World War I

00:24and now all those hurt by conflict and terrorism.

00:27We take care of 25,000 injured every year. They need to be recognized.

00:33We also need to understand the sacrifice of those that fell for our freedom.

00:37The sacrifice of the heroes of yesterday and the heroes of today and tomorrow.

00:41That's why this is very important.

00:43Along the Champs-Élysées for the annual commemorations, many wore the badges, be it former soldiers or civilians.

00:50I wear it to support all of the soldiers who died, for us, for all the mourning families and victims of terror attacks.

00:57It's important. It's not much, but it can help people who served France.

01:02So it's important for us to make this gesture.

01:06This year, the French president unveiled a plaque in tribute to the Malgré Nous,

01:10or the 130,000 French men from Alsace-Lorraine who were forced to join the German army against their will in World War II.

01:17These forced enlistees are now, with the plaque, considered victims as well.

01:22All around the French tomb of the unknown soldier, children held urns filled with earth from battlefields.

01:28To remember those lost there, just like across France, as it remembers, in silence and in song,

01:35all those who've lost their lives for the nation.

01:38A few weeks later, let's see.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended