From the 17th century to the present day, this abbey has enjoyed a rich and eventful history. It is currently home to Ministry of Defence departments. History Pentemont Abbey was founded in 1217 at Beauvais, by Philippe de Dreux. Transferred to Paris in 1672, at the wishes of King Louis XIV, the Abbey then settled in the former buildings of the Order of the Word Incarnate; on the site of what is now 104 rue de Grenelle. In 1745, Abbess Marie-Catherine Béthisy de Mézières entrusted the reconstruction of the Abbey to Constant d'Ivry, architect to the Duc d'Orléans and known for his work on the Palais-Royal. The buildings were completed in 1783, but a lack of finance prevented their decoration. Later, in 1835, the building of the extension to rue de Bellechasse meant the demolition of part of the buildings. Up until the Revolution, Pentemont Abbey served as a convent for nuns, as well as an educational establishment for the daughters of nobility. Some apartments were also reserved for ladies of good standing seeking rest. This was the case when Joséphine de Beauharnais stayed here, while the case of her separation from her husband was heard.

After the Revolution, the building was used for military purposes. The abbey buildings housed the National Guard, then the Imperial Guard under the First Empire, before becoming the barracks for the Cent Gardes under the Second Empire. In 1915, Pentemont Abbey was put at the disposal of the Pensions Department of the Ministry of War, which became the Ministry of War Pensions, Bonuses and Benefits in 1920. The building still houses Ministry of Defence departments to this day. Main courtyard The buildings to the left and at the far end of the main courtyard were built in the 19th century, for military purposes. Today they house Ministry of Defence departments. The building on the right, from the 17th century, was the main building of Pentemont Abbey. The first-floor windows at the centre of the facade, used to open into the Abbess's salon. The monumental entrance on the ground floor, which used to lead directly to the Abbey chapel, was converted into the grand salon between the wars.
War memorial and commemorative plaques The war memorial bears the inscription "From veterans to their comrades who gave their lives for their country. In memoriam". It is accompanied by a stele, dedicated to Ministry of Veterans' staff and the victims of war who died for France. Four commemorative plaques to députés and Veterans' Ministers (André Maginot, Robert Lasalle, Albert Aubry and Henri Frenay) are mounted on the building at the far end of the courtyard. There is also a plaque to the victims of the attack on the UTA DC 10 on 19th September 1989. This site is closed to the public, except on heritage days. This historical monument, under the administration of the Ministry for Defence, is part of a Defence Culture protocol, signed on 17th September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings included ...
Ministère de la défense Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration Direction de la Mémoire, du Patrimoine et des Archives Bureau des actions culturelles et muséographiques 14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées E-mail: [email=dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr]dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr[/email

Inaugurated on 12 April 1962 by General de Gaulle, then President of the Republic of France, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation is a memorial to the 200,000 people deported from Vichy France and evokes certain characteristics of the concentration camps: imprisonment, oppression and impossible escape, the long process of attrition, the desire for extermination and abasement.

Designed by the architect Georges-Henri Pingusson, the vast, hexagonal, dimly-lit crypt opens onto the gallery covered by luminous rods representing the deported people killed in the camps and the ashes of an unknown deportee from Natzweiler-Struthof camp.

Either side of the crypt, two small galleries contain earth from the different camps and ashes brought back from the cremation ovens, enshrined in triangular urns.

All around, the names of the camps and excerpts from poems by Robert Desnos, Louis Aragon, Paul Eluard, Jean-Paul Sartre and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry are inscribed in red characters.

Every year, on the last Sunday of April, the Memorial is visited in honour of the National Day of Remembrance of the Victims and Heroes of the Deportation.

Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation
Square de l'Ile de France 75004 Paris
Tel - Fax: +33 (0)1 46 33 87 56

Opening times:

Open every day except Monday
1 October to 31 March: 10 am to 5 pm
1 April to 30 September: 10 am to 7 pm

Tours

Grounds and crypt: Free admission every day (see opening times above)
Upper rooms: on request from the Director of Important Memorial Sites in Ile-de-France.

Admission: Free

Duration of visit: 30 minutes (full tour): grounds, crypt and upper rooms)

Getting to the memorial
By metro: Line 1 - Saint Paul station or line 10 - Maubert Mutualité station
By road: Quai de la Râpée - Pont d'Austerlitz- turn right onto Quai Saint Bernard – continue along Quai de la Tournelle – turn right onto Pont de l'Archevêché-continue along Quai de l'Archevêché

Site officiel de la fondation pour la mémoire de la Shoah

Fondation pour la mémoire de la déportation

Created in 1905 by the merging of the artillery museum with the historic army museum, the army museum was one of the very first in the world and today houses the largest museum collection of military history in France. Established in the hôtel national des Invalides, a prestigious 17th century building commissioned by King Louis XIV to house injured soldiers, convalescents and invalids, the army museum brings together numerous masterpieces of military art from medieval times to present day, most notably a collection of weapons and armour, reduced-scale models of artillery and a rich collection of portraits and battle scenes, as well as historic souvenirs and army uniforms from the Old Regime up to the two world wars of the 20th century. Two religious monuments are attached to the army museum: the church of Saint Louis des Invalides, whose vault is adorned with French military trophies and the church of Eglise du Dôme, which houses the tomb of Emperor Napoleon the First. The museum is currently the subject of a modernisation programme called Athéna, with work to be completed in 2009. The first part was finished on the 18th of June 2000, with the inauguration of the wing dedicated to the Second World War.

Following its renovation, the museum's Eastern wing has been open to the public since the 1st of July 2006, displaying collections from Saint Louis to Louis XIII and from the 3rd Republic until 1938,. The 3rd phase of the ATHENA project will run from 2005 until 2009 and is dedicated to the reorganization of the east wing (2005-2007) and the installation of teaching and themed spaces, as well as workshops (2007-2009).
This historic monument, owned by the Ministry of Defence, belongs to the Culture & Defence protocol signed on the 17th of September 2005. Click here for a list of other buildings...
Address: Musée de l'armée Hôtel national des Invalides 129, rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris 7ème Phonenumber : 01.44.42.38.77 e-mail: comm-ma@invalides.org Opening times (Ticket desks close half an hour before): From the 1st of April until the 30th of September inclusive, from 10 am until 6 pm The Eglise du Dôme is open until 6.30 pm on Sundays From the 1st of October until the 30th of March inclusive, from 10 am until 5 pm The Eglise du Dôme is open until 5.30 pm on Sundays From the 15th of June until the 15th of September inclusive, the Eglise du Dôme is open until 7 pm. Closed : on the first Monday of every month, except in July, August and September when the museum is open every day without exception and the 1st of January, the 1st of May, the 1st of November and the 25th of December. Timetable: Open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from the 1st October to the 31st March, and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. from the 1st of April to the 30th of September The museum is closed on the 1st of January, the 1st of May, the 1st of November and the 25th of December, as well as the first Monday of every month, except during the summer period (July-August-September) during which it is open every day. Transports: Underground : Latour-Maubourg, Invalides, Varenne Bus : 28/49/63/69/82/83/87/92 Tariffs: Individual rate: 9 € Group rates and reduced price: € 7 Group of 10 persons and reservations 01 44 42 43 87 Free for residents and nationals of the European Union under 26 years Services: The Army Museum offers audio guides to accompany your visit to the Eglise du Dôme, which houses the tomb of Napoleon the First. All ticket holders (at full or reduced rate) have free access to a multilingual audio-guide service. Visitors who qualify for free entry can pay for this service (0.50 €). Summary: Reduced rate: students under 26 years old, ex-servicemen, holders of the large family card, groups of people over 60 years old (15 people or more) Free: under 18's, unemployed and benefit holders, disabled, students from the Ecole du Louvre, history and art history students, lecturers from national museums (CNMHF), curators of public museums, journalists, members of ICOM and ICOMOS, active military personnel and civil personnel from the Ministry of Defence. Access : Tickets are for entry to the Army Museum's exhibition halls (permanent collections), to temporary exhibitions, to the Eglise du Dôme (Tomb of Napoleon the First) to the museum of relief maps and to the museum of the Order of Liberation. A single ticket gives access to all the halls of the Army museum, the Church of the Dome, to the museum of the plans and relief and to the museum "Ordre de la Liberation".School groups and "tale visits": 40 euros each group Free: for adolescents under 18 years, active soldiers and civil personnel of the ministry of defence. A single ticket gives access to all the halls of the Army museum, the Church of the Dome, to the museum of the plans and relief and to the museum "Ordre de la Liberation".

(Permanently closed to the public on 1 July 2018, before moving to the restored Ledoux
buildings and an adjacent building, in Place Denfert-Rochereau, 14th arrondissement of Paris.)

After being housed for 24 years above Paris-Montparnasse railway station, the museum re-opened in new surroundings on the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris. Its new home was a heritage site. The new setting, more accessible and more visible, is steeped in the history of the period. Jean Moulin lived nearby.

During the Liberation of Paris, Colonel Rol-Tanguy, FFI commander for the Paris region, set up his command post in its basement, before General Leclerc crossed the square on entering Paris on 25 August 1944.

The website chantiermuseeliberation.paris.fr takes you behind the scenes of the future museum, to see its design, collections and the progress of the works.

 - Extract from the press pack -

The neoclassical building housing the Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) stands behind one of the two monumental colonnades facing Place de la Concorde on either side of Rue Royale. These two colonnades were inspired by the ones that Claude Perrault, an architect, designed for the Louvre Palace's eastern range. The vaulted gallery on the ground floor holds up twelve columns with Corinthian capitals, which frame the central loggia. The pavilions on either corner feature four Corinthian columns supporting pediments decorated by Sebastien Slodtz and Nicolas Coustou, two sculptors. Balustrades connect the two pediments.

This building was designed around the main courtyard (called the Cour d'Estienne d'Orves). A hall across this courtyard leads to the Grand Degré staircase leading up to the halls and galleries on the first floor. The Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, King Louis XV's chief architect. and built between 1757 and 1774. It was part of much vaster plans to develop the "Fondrière" area (Place de la Concorde today) around a statue of Louis XV. The building was originally used to store royal palace furniture. It was later used as a museum where the public could see the royal quarters' finest (and carefully-kept and restored) furniture, tapestry, light fittings and decorations. That is why the Navy Halls looked more like a museum than what we would imagine when we think of a furniture warehouse today. As an aside, a number of pieces were stolen in 1792. The Navy Ministry moved to this building in 1789 and the Navy's High Command have used it as part it its headquarters since (despite changing scope and name in step with France's evolving political and military history). Part of the French Navy's High Command is headquartered in the Navy Halls. This building has been entrusted to the Ministry of Defence. France's Defence and Culture ministries signed an agreement to restore it, on 17 September 2005.
Navy Halls (Hôtel de la Marine) Place de la Concorde Cultural and Museum Initiative Authority (Bureau des actions culturelles et muséographiques) e-mail: dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr

The Post Office Museum is a place of both remembrance and conservation, a research and documentation centre, focussing on writing, the fine arts, history and society. History Opened in 1946, the Post Office Museum was situated in the 6th district of Paris, in the former Choiseul Praslin Hotel, which dates from the beginning of the 18th century. In 1973 this location had become too cramped and the museum moved into its current purpose-built building at 34 boulevard de Vaugirard, right in the heart of the Montparnasse area. Today the museum occupies 15 rooms and the general public starts its tour from the 5th floor, following a circuit that finishes on the ground floor. Setting the scene In fifteen rooms the Post Office Museum offers an introduction into the history of the Post Office, from its origins to the modern day, along with a taste of the world of philately. The circuit (the tour starts from the 5th floor), which links the chronology with important events, emphasises the social aspect of this business. But it is also a history of the French people that is told here, through the Post Office and philately. Old post boxes, postillion and postmen's uniforms, models of mail coaches, valuable postage stamps and artistic works: all the items in this exhibition form part of a collection that is extraordinary and rich in colour.

Collections The Post Office Museum looks after the stamp and postal collections belonging to the State and those of the Post Office. In a space of 1500 m² the historical, philatelic, scientific and artistic heritage is displayed, consisting of exhibits as diverse as postage stamps, the first road maps, postmen's uniforms, artists' mock-ups, archives and common objects and finally a large collection of mail and postal art.
The historical collections department is a valuable mine of information for historians and those interested in the history of Post Office administration. The Museum holds collections of postmen's almanacs, Post Office calendars, postcards, archives, touring guides, post office books and itineraries, stamps, common objects and contemporary works of art.
The Photographic Library The photographic library contains over 150,000 plates, from famous characters of the airmail service to Villemot's posters for savings accounts and the plates of all French postage stamps. Consultations and loans by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tel.: 01.42.79.24.16 The Llibrary With over 25,000 volumes and more than 850 periodical titles, the Museum's library is host to researchers and those interested in information about stamp collecting or on the history of the Post Office. Works and periodicals can be consulted on the premises, with a charge for photocopies. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10 am until 6 pm. Tel.: 01.42.79.24.03 The Philately Point In the Museum lobby there is a "Philately Point" where purchases can be made of stamps from France, Monaco, Andorra, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, newly released current stamps, pre-paid envelopes and the Post Office's philately products, such as First day covers. The philately point is open during Museum opening hours, from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. The Loans Department The loans department can respond to any requests about: Historical collections - tel.: 01.42.79.24.27 Philately collections - tel.: 01. 42.79.24.41 The Conference area The Museum has an auditorium for hire, seating 162 people. Tel.: 01 42 79 23 33 The Historical Collections Department This department looks after iconographic objects and documents that relate to the development of the organisation and the jobs within the Post Office, as well as traditions in writing and correspondence. The Museum also has extensive archives on the history of the Post Office and the telegraph. Consultation of items not on display is by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tel.: 01.42.79.24.23
Post Office Museum of Paris 34 Bd de Vaugirard 75731 PARIS CEDEX 1e-mail: collections.historiques@laposte.net Access by underground: Montparnasse, Pasteur, Falguière Access by bus: lines 28, 48, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96 Opening times The Post Office Museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am until 6 pm. It is closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays Admission charges Permanent Collections: Full price: 5 € Reduced rate: 3.50 € Free for: the under 18's, The Post Office Group, the Friends of the Post Office, holders of an ICOM card, group leaders and Inter-Museum pass holders. Temporary Exhibitions: Full price: 5/6 € Reduced rate: 3.50 € / 4.50 € Guided tours: (Additional charge for tours in English) Joint visit (museum and exhibition): Full price: 7 € / 8 € Reduced rate: 5.50 € / 6.50 € (for the unemployed, students and groups of more than 20 people) Free for postal workers

Georges Clemenceau s’installa rue Franklin, dans le 16^ème arrondissement, en 1895, peu de temps après le scandale de Panama à la suite duquel, calomnié, il perdit son siège de député. Il vivra dans ce modeste appartement de trois pièces sur jardin avec vue sur la tour Eiffel, durant trente-cinq ans jusqu'à sa mort le 24 novembre 1929. 

Clemenceau ne quittera jamais cet appartement, même quand il exercera, par deux fois, les fonctions de Président du Conseil – d’abord comme ministre de l’Intérieur, entre octobre 1906 et juillet 1909, puis comme ministre de la Guerre, entre novembre 1917 et janvier 1920 - refusant à chaque fois d'habiter dans les palais officiels, ne souhaitant pas « vivre en meublé », selon ses propres termes.

C’est dans cet appartement que le général Mordacq vint lui annoncer la fin de la guerre.

« A 5h45, je recevai la nouvelle que l’Armistice était signé. Je me précipitai aussitôt chez Clemenceau . j’y arrivai vers 6 heures. Je trouvai le Président dans sa chambre, éveillé et levé. Il n’avait pas dû dormir beaucoup car, lui aussi, comme tous les bons Français, se demandait si décidemment, cette fois, c’était bien la fin du long cauchemar. Dès que je lui eu annoncé la bonne nouvelle, il me prit dans ses bras et m’y serra longuement. Très émus tous les deux, nous restâmes ainsi plusieurs minutes sans pouvoir parler » …. 

Général H. Mordacq, « L’Armistice du 11 novembre 1918, récit d’un témoin », Paris, Librairie Plon, 1937, p.78-84

A la mort de Clemenceau, l’appartement fut transformé en musée et conservé dans l’état. Le visiteur peut toujours y admirer les nombreux témoignages reflétant le goût de son célèbre occupant non seulement pour la Grèce antique, mais aussi pour l’Extrême-Orient, de même que la trace de ses amitiés nouées avec les artistes les plus novateurs de son temps (Monet, Manet, Rodin, etc….).

Une galerie documentaire au premier étage est adjointe au musée, quelques années après, retraçant la vie incroyablement riche de cette personnalité aux multiples facettes : médecin, maire de Montmartre, député et journaliste, ministre, Président du Conseil, anticlérical farouche, écrivain, collectionneur, ….

Quatre-vingt-six ans après la mort de Clemenceau, la Fondation a entrepris un premier chantier de restauration dans le cadre du Centenaire de la Grande Guerre. Cette première tranche, regroupant la restauration du cabinet de travail et le vestibule de l’appartement du Tigre, répond à une exigence scrupuleuse dans la restitution fidèle des pièces telles que Clemenceau les avait connues jusqu’à sa mort, exigence répondant à l’objet même de la Fondation du musée. Les travaux de restauration du cabinet de travail et du vestibule auront duré cinq mois pour redonner tout son lustre au décor cher à Clemenceau.

Aujourd’hui, le musée a rouvert ses portes avec le plaisir d’y retrouver ses visiteurs de plus en plus nombreux.

Sources : ©Musée Clemenceau

Built during the reign of Louis XV, la chapelle St-Louis de l'Ecole Militaire is original evidence of the architectural heritage of the 18th century.

In 1751, Louis XV decided to build a royal military school on the plain of Grenelle. The project was entrusted to his favourite architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Work on the school began in 1753 and lasted more than thirty years, during the course of which financial problems disrupted the initial project. The original plans provided for the construction of a majestic chapel in the middle of the enclosure. In 1768, Gabriel proposed a second project, in which the chapel was to form part of the interior of the main building. Louis XV laid the foundation stone of the chapel on 5 July 1769. Upon its completion in 1773, the chapel was dedicated to Saint Louis, the patron saint of the army. Until 1788, it was open for worship and welcomed students and staff from the military school. Bonaparte received his confirmation there in 1785. Devastated during the Revolution, the chapel was turned into a canteen and then a feed and weapons depot. Its furnishings were dispersed. During the funeral of Marshal Joffre in 1931, the chapel was definitively cleared of all the items kept there. Its furnishings were recovered during the course of the 1930s and it was restored as a Catholic place of worship in 1951.
The chapel is 35 metres long and 13 metres wide. It consists of a unique rectangular nave divided into eight equal spans, the last of which forms the chancel. The spans are separated by Corinthian columns that support a lowered arch-shaped vault. The windows of the ground floor have been blinded and now hold paintings representing the life of Saint Louis. These nine works illustrate the main events in the life of the king. The chapel also has one of the panes of a triptych from the Renaissance period. Above the main entrance and along the full width of the chapel there is a gallery supported by four ionic columns on which a modern organ has been placed.
The back wall, which is located behind the chancel, is decorated with two Corinthian columns similar to those of the nave. The altar includes a tomb made of white marble, decorated with a gilded bronze wreath. Two low reliefs attributed to the sculptor Pajou are detaching themselves from the walls above the tribune and behind the altar. The reliefs depict child angels lifting a cross in the clouds and the scene of the Apocalypse of Saint John. On either side of the chancel are two doors that provide access to the sacristy. Above these doors, two walled-up openings indicate the site of the galleries where important hosts previously sat to listen to mass. Nowadays, flags representing the colours of the French army since the reign of Louis XV and have been installed there.
The current throne is decorated with raised patterns gilded with gold leaf and a medallion representing an eagle with outstretched wings. Under the chapel there is a crypt in which contains the bodies of the first governor of the school and of Pâris Duverney, an adviser to Louis XV. The chapel is open on rare occasions only, for religious ceremonies or concerts organised by the ministry of defence.
The restoration of this unique monument, for which the Department of Defence is responsible, was included in a Culture and Defence protocol signed on the 17th September 2005.
La Chapelle Saint-Louis de l'Ecole militaire 1 place J'offre Paris 7° Metro station: Ecole militaire

Short history of the construction In February 1806, Napoleon I orders the construction of the Arc de Triomphe, in order to commemorate the victories of his armies. Finally the emperor decides to built it in Place de l'Etoile. The first stone of the monument is placed on August 15th 1806. The plans of this construction are those of the architect CHALGRIN. In 1870, in occasion to Napoleon's wedding with the archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he will built a trompe-oeuil of wood and painted material. Finished in time for the ceremony, the decoration gives an idea of what the monument will be once completed. CHALGRIN dies in 1810. He is replaced by Louis-Robert GOUST. At the end of the year 1813, the Arc reaches 19 meters height. The events of 1814 questions everything. Under the "Restoration", the works doze. Louis Philippe, who became king in 1830, decides to give life to this project again. The works start again and the Arc de Triomphe, dedicated to the Armies of the Revolution and to the Empire will be completed by the architect Guillaume - Abel BLOUET. The monument will be inaugurated on July 29th 1836.

The Monument The proportion of the Arc de Triomphe are enormous : it measures 49 meters height and exceeds 45 meters width. The arch of the two frontages reaches 20,50 meters of height for a width of 14,50 meters. The transversal frontages are pierced of an arch of 19 meters height on a width of 8,50 meters. The big frieze surrounding the four façades represents the great personalities of the Revolution and the Empire, or furthermore the return of the armies from Italy and Egypt.
The most imposing ornament is without any doubt the one formed by the four colossal groups erected on each pier of the two great façades : - Avenue de Champs Elysées : the Departure of the volunteers (left), still called La Marseillaise, of François RUDE and on the Triumph of the emperor (left) sculpted by Jean-Pierre CORTOT - Avenue de la Grande Armée, the two sculptured alto-rilievo represent the Resistance on the right, and the Peace on the left. On the interior surfaces of the big and small arches, the names of the generals and the great battles of the Revolution and the Empire are engraved. On the ground, near the grave of the unknown soldier, several bronze plaques commemorate important events of the contemporary history : the proclamation of the Republic on September 4th 1870, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France on November 11th 1918 the call to arms on June 18th 1940. It also evocates the memory to the fighters and the resistant fighters of the Second World war, as well as the memory of "the dead for France" in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
Climbing up the Arc de Triomphe Climbing up the Arc de Triomphe means climbing up 284 steps (an elevator gives access to handicapped persons), but it also means to have access to different museum halls and to the terrace. The big hall of the museum, situated under the terrace, exhibits a vast number of documents : engravings, drawings, photographs, models and various original parts of projects (for example the elephant), the construction and the decoration of the Arch, as well as great events, for example the return of Napoleon's I ashes (the 15th of December 1840),Victor HUGO's dead guard (May 29th 1885), the march of the Victory (on July 14th 1919), the arrival of the unknown soldier (January 28th 1921), the homage to General de Gaulle on the grave of the unknown soldier in a released capital (August 26th 1944). The terrace allows/gives a splendid view of Paris, the Champs Elysées, the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, the Dome des Invalides, and westwards the Arche de la Défense.
The Unknown Soldier The armistice, which puts an end to the First World war, is signed on November 11th 1918 in Rethondes (near Compiègne in Oise). Nevertheless the joy of the victory is plunged into mourning of 1 500 000 victims, for the majority very young. Soon in the small villages as well as in the big cities, monuments in memory of all the dead will be raised and in companies, in high schools and colleges commemorative plaques are carried out. On November 20th 1916, whereas the terrible Verdun battle is in the mind of everyone, F SIMON, President of the French Memory, has the idea to honour a soldier in the Panthéon, who like many others fought and died bravely for his fatherland. The project is finally adopted by the deputies on November 12th 1919. One year after, at the beginning of the month of November, the Parliament decides that the remainders of one of the unidentified soldiers, died during the war on the Field of Honour, will be buried under the Arc de Triomphe. Eight bodies of unidentified French soldiers, chosen among the different front sectors, are then transported in the Verdun citadel. November 10th 1920 at 3 p.m. the soldier Auguste THIN, son of a fighter, who died himself in the war, indicates by depositing a bunch of flowers on one of the coffins which will be carried to Paris. On November 1920, in the morning, after a ceremony at the Panthéon, the coffin is deposited in one of the halls of the Arc de Triomphe, arranged in a chapel of rest. On January 28th 1921, the coffin of the Unknown Soldier is buried in the centre of the principal arch, facing the Champs Elysées.
The Symbol of the flame Following the suggestion made early in 1921 by sculptor Gregory Calvet, then in October 1923 by the writer Gabriel BOISSY, the sacred flame under the Arc de Triomphe was lit for the first time November 11, 1923 to 18 hours by Andre Maginot, minister of war, while troops of the 5th RI presented arms as the band played Chopin's Funeral March." Since that date the flame was never extinct. Every evening at 6:30 p.m. the flame is revived by the representatives of the Association of Veterans or associations, whose good citizenship is recognized (such as the Red Cross). This ceremonial never stopped, not even during the occupation between 1940 and 1944. Obviously the Parisian high-school pupil and student, turn toward the flame and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, during the processions defying the occupant. The Flame under the Arc de Triomphe evokes also for some people the Flame of the Resistance, of which a certain Charles de Gaulle once used to talk. Nowadays, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Flame of Memory symbolize for all the French, but also for the tourists of the entire world, the sacrifice of all those who died on the battlefield. The Flame of Memory also symbolizes the tribute paid to those who gave their lifes, to make us live in a free country. Lastly, since the tragic days of the occupation, the symbol of the flame found an additional vocation, the one of hope in the future and faith in the destiny of our country.
The ceremony of the revival Since November 11th 1923, each evening at 6:30 p.m. the flame is revived by the representatives of the Association, following a planning established by the Committee of the Flame. A precise ceremonial takes place. Each day, at least two members of the Committee, are appointed to accommodate the Associations and organise the ceremony. The associations meet either at the crossroad Champs Elysées/ Balsac, or at the top of the Champs Elysées, or directly at the Arc the Triomphe, when the participants are not too many. They are then taken under the Arc de Triomphe. At the top, the flower carriers lead the procession, followed by flag holders and the members of the association. They reach their final destination by taking the principal alley of the Champs Elysées. The participants take position on both sides of the Holy Flagstone and the flag holders take place in a circle on the west side of the flagstone. Before the ceremony the Commissioner and the Service Guard set up the flag of "the Flame", the bugle and the drum of the Republican Guard. Lastly the Commissioner of the flame and the different Presidents of the Associations join the Flagstone, they ascent the alley accompanied by the the call "The Flame". he delegations are then invited to lay their wreath, then while placing themselves near the flame, the Commissioner gives the sword to the president, who is invited to make the gesture of the revival. The call "To the Deaths" resounds, the flags are inclined, followed by a minute of silence. When a military melody (or other) is played, the call "to the Death" is followed by the refrain of the Marseillaise. The president is accompanied by the authorities and together they sign the Golden Book, then of a fraternal gesture they greet the flag holders, the Commissioners of the Flame, the members of the Associations and the guests aligned along the Flagstone. Everybody unite at the foot of the tomb and the musicians play the anthem "Honour of the Unknown Soldier". Then they are accompanied by the Commissioner in service, whereas the music plays "the Flame". This ritual is the same even when the General, President of "the Flame under the Arc de Triomphe" is present. The delegations are then invited to sign the Golden Book.
Arc de Triomphe Place de l'étoile 75008 Paris Acces Métro Charles de Gaulle-Etoile (1, 2, 6) RER A Charles de Gaulle-Etoile