The 43-year-old laid a bouquet of flowers on Saturday at the grave of the unknown soldier in the shadow of the Parisian triumphal arch, as TV pictures showed. May 8 is a public holiday in France – it commemorates the Allied victory against Nazi Germany in 1945.
Macron’s predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande also took part in the brief ceremony. Because of the corona restrictions, there were only a few invited participants. The head of state and others wore a badge in the shape of a cornflower on their lapel – in France this is a symbol of solidarity with former combatants and injured soldiers.