November 11 ceremony: follow the France 2 special program dedicated to the commemorations

A final return to the Champs-Elysées for Emmanuel Macron. The President of the Republic is participating for the last time as head of state in the November 11 commemorations on Wednesday. Alongside the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, and several members of the government, he will preside over the ceremony in the capital, culminating in the rekindling of the flame of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony can be followed on France 2 from 9:25 a.m.

• “November 11 is a celebration of peace.” Questioned on TF1, Wednesday, November 11, the Minister Delegate for the Armed Forces, Alice Rufo, judged the controversy surrounding the commemorations at the school of the armistice of November 11, 1918 to be "very regrettable." November 11. Some unions fear a form of recruitment and exploitation a few months before the presidential election. “It’s a moment of collective belonging, where former soldiers come to testify: it’s superb. (...) Why deprive the students of this transmission?” explained Alice Rufo.

• A particular focus on Marshal Foch. Ferdinand Foch will be the common thread of the special edition of France 2, with the presence of the soldier's great-great-grandson, Jean Bécourt-Foch. The opportunity to learn more about the importance of this military leader still studied at Saint-Cyr, who played a key role on the battlefield until the signing of the armistice, in the famous Rethondes wagon, where he gave up nothing to the German negotiators. Historians like Jean-Yves Le Naour, also a guest on France 2, even believe that he obtained a "disguised capitulation" from the enemy on November 11, 1918.

• A particular holiday. Contrary to what one might believe, the commemorations of November 11 do not only pay tribute to the dead of the First World War (1.4 million in France, as well as more than 4.3 million wounded). Since 2012, this day has been dedicated to all those who died for France. While the status of several memorial holidays has fluctuated over the past century, this date has been a public holiday since 1922 and no president or government has expressed the idea of ​​calling it into question.

The special day on the France Télévisions channels will conclude with the broadcast of the documentary Verdun: 300 days, 300 nights, at 9:10 p.m. on France 3.