As Western leaders assembled in Normandy to celebrate victory over totalitarian forces, the Continent is experiencing the deadliest fighting it has seen since World War II, with the war in Ukraine now well into its second year.
“We are there and we will not fail you,” Macron said with reference to military support for Ukraine.
Crowds broke out into spontaneous applause as the ceremony commenced with dozens of veterans, many of them over 100 and wheelchair users, entering and taking their place around the main stage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was greeted with a rousing round of applause and cheers from the audience.
Close to 5,000 guests gathered under a clear blue sky, watched film extracts of the fighting on D-Day and listened to excerpts of letters from soldiers. Parachutists landed on the sand behind the stage and the ceremony, which lasted for several hours, culminated with an international flyover.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Britain’s Prince William and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte were among those who attended the ceremony on Omaha Beach, where some of the fiercest fighting took place 80 years ago.
The U.S. president is on a five-day trip to France, which will include a state visit with the French president on Saturday. Biden is expected to hold talks with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the commemorations.
