Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris

Arc de Triomphe at the Place Charles de Gaulle

Arc de Triomphe at the Place Charles de Gaulle

While we were still exploring the grounds of the Arc de Triomphe, we noticed that part of the grounds were fenced off. It seems that there was a ceromony going on that time and what is probably the same reason why there were a lot of people here as well. There were a few uniformed old folk here and I understood it to be some kind of a memorial service for the war dead. The people in uniform were military personnel or relative of people who served in the second world war. When the ceremony ended we were allowed into the restricted area and we got to see what was going on.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

There was an eternal flame at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe and there was an inscription there as well. This is the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Paris. In war, it is inevitable that there would be casualties, and it is also inevitable that some bodies cannot be identified. Not everybody would be honored by name. This is the place where such people are honored and remembered. The uniformed people see to that, that these people are never forgotten. The symbolism here didn’t escape me, as the Arc de Triomphe was decided to be the resting place of these soldiers.

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