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France 24
France 24
FRANCE 24

As it happened: World leaders honour D-Day fallen in 75th anniversary Normandy tributes

Christian Hartmann, REUTERS | The presidents of France and the US attend a commemoration ceremony for the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the American cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France, on June 6, 2019.

World leaders and WWII veterans gathered at memorial landmarks across Normandy on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings that paved the way for the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi rule.

  • D-Day anniversary ceremonies started at 7:26am local time when a lone piper on Gold Beach marked the exact moment the Normandy invasion began 75 years ago
  • French President Macron and US President Trump paid tribute to US forces in a service at the US cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, where the French leader bestowed the Legion of Honour, France’s highest distinction, on five D-Day veterans
  • Macron also joined British PM May in Vers-sur-Mer to lay the first stone of a new memorial dedicated to British troops who fought in the Normandy campaign
  • Macron paid tribute to the all-French Kieffer Commando at Sword Beach in Colleville-Montgoméry
  • French PM Philippe and Canadian PM Trudeau led the international commemoration in Courseulles-sur-Mer at Juno Beach, the Canadian landing sector in Normandy, laying wreaths on the beach alongside the leaders and dignitaries of other contributing countries in a moving conclusion to the 75th anniversary tributes in France
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