Students, veterans and troops in military uniform attended a ceremony to mark the centennial of the World War I armistice at the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday to honor the millions of civilians and mainly young soldiers who died from 1914 to 1918 across Europe. Around 70 state leaders attended the ceremony under an expected drizzle.

In his speech, the host President Emmanuel Macron called on his fellow leaders not to forget the lessons of the past and worldwide hopes for peace.

“Ruining this hope with a fascination for isolation, violence or domination would be a mistake, for which future generations would rightly find us responsible,” Macron told them, as quoted by AFP.

He also delivered a stinging indictment of nationalism, calling it “the exact opposite” of the patriotism shown by soldiers. “Nationalism is a betrayal.”

“By saying our interests come first and others don’t matter we are erasing what makes a nation precious, what makes it live, what makes it great and most importantly of all, its moral values,” the president said, watched by Trump, who prides himself on being called a nationalist.

Macron lit the eternal flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, who is buried at the base of the Arc de Triomphe, the site of the ceremony.

Among the state leaders were outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump.

The event reflected some unity across Europe despite a looming Brexit and earlier apparent tension between the host and other leaders.

Macron has repeatedly raised dangers of “nationalism” including in remarks throughout his visits to a number of cemeteries in northern France as part of the centennial ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.

In one of the highlights of the ceremony, eight students read out surviving written testimonials of soldiers who had fought in WWI, preceded and followed by cello and violin performances.

Other performances included one by the European Union Youth Orchestra.

The world famous Champs-Élysées avenue was closed until Sunday afternoon following the ceremony, which marked exactly 100 years since the armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11 a.m. French troops had marched in victory through the Arc.

The monument has a replica in Kediri, East Java, reflecting its popularity among Indonesian visitors to Paris.

Just minutes before the leaders walked along the Champs-Élysées toward the Arc, a topless woman ran through the street with “fake peace” scribbled across her chest, similar to the message of protesters earlier in the week. Authorities quickly removed the unidentified woman.

Critics of the Versailles Treaty, which officially ended the war, say the imposition of the harsh conditions on Germany and other countries was partly to blame for further tension and conflict leading to WWII.

Perhaps in contrast to Macron’s strong tone against divisive nationalism, his brainchild, the Paris Peace Forum, which runs from Sunday to Tuesday, involves various individuals and organizations who will debate and showcase hundreds of ideas for global governance “synergies” in a wide range of areas including an inclusive economy, sustainable ocean governance and a “peace village” to build women’s resilience.

The latter is one of over 100 proposed projects submitted by Indonesia’s Wahid Institute. Its founder Yenny Wahid is on the Forum’s steering committee along with Trisha Setty, a lawyer who founded the SheSay portal, initially for sexual abuse victims in India.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Merkel were set on Sunday afternoon to open the Peace Forum, planned to be held annually.

Macron and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, a survivor among captives of the Islamic State who has defended fellow sexual abuse victims, will give one of the talks at the Forum titled “Freedom at stake”.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia