Commemoration of the Centennial of WWI's Armistice

On Nov 11, 1918, the leaders of the countries engaged in World World I ended four years of conflict. To commemorate this historic event, which laid the foundation for a new world, many ceremonies, exhibitions, and other events will be held throughout France. The regions directly affected by the conflict will have the most notable commemorations, particularly the North and East.

2018 marks the end of the commemoration of WWI, begun in 2014. This year, the country continues to honor the soldiers who fought on French territory, particularly in the trenches of the Western Front. But it is also time for the celebration of peace, since we commemorate the centenial of the Armistice signed on November 11, 1918 in the clearing of Rethondes, in the Hauts-de-France. For the occasion, the Armistice Memorial, located in Compiègne, created a new, more immersive and more educational scenography. One of the highlights is a reconstruction of the traincar in which the Armistice was signed.

In Verdun, in Lorraine, the symbolic city of WWI, the World Peace Center depicts the period of 1918-1919 through contemporaneous French and international press coverage. On display until Dec 20, 2018, the exhibition "From World War to European Peace" is based on some 150 newspapers reporting on the political and social context of the post-war period. There is also the theme of the post-war period at the Musée de l'Ardenne in Charleville-Mézières, through the exhibition "Finir la guerre 1918-1933", until February 2019.

Official commemorations week-end

From Friday 9th to Sunday 11th, a program of official commemorations will also be set up in the Clearing of the Armistice in Compiègne and at
the Hôtel National des Invalides and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Philharmonie de Paris organizes a "War and Peace" weekend with several events and as the "Shell Shock, a Requiem of War" concert. The choreography and stage direction is by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and it explores the post-traumatic stress disorder that soldiers returning from the Great War suffered from.

2018 "Clémenceau Year"

In 2018, Georges Clémenceau, President of the Council and Minister of War from 1917 to 1920, nicknamed "Père la Victoire" is also being honored. This opportunity to (re)discover the French politician includes several exhibitions dedicated to him, at the Clémenceau Museum and in his former office in Paris, but also in his birthplace in Vendée, which has been recently opened to the public.