France commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron led the national remembrance in the capital, Paris, laying a wreath in front of a crowd at the statue of General Charles de Gaulle, who led the French Resistance against Nazi Germany.
But as France remembered the millions who fought and died in the war, it also faced a sobering reality: few remain who have witnessed its horrors first-hand.
“Unfortunately, I’m finding that there are fewer and fewer of us,” said 89-year-old Marcjanna Marcinkowski, who was just nine when Paris was liberated from Nazi occupation in 1944.
“That’s a real concern, because finding myself alone is something that troubles me a lot,” she added.
Marcinkowski fears the lessons of the war risk being lost in today’s younger generations.
“I feel like these lessons are already forgotten. In schools, we’ve completely stopped talking about World War II and the first World War”, she told Euronews.
But as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine rages on at Europe’s doorstep, the few remaining veterans feel that history is on the brink of repeating itself.
“I’m very committed to peace. We must do everything we can to prevent people from killing each other,” said Jean Yaghlekdjian, a 101-year-old World War II veteran.
“I’m very attached to this message because I’ve seen too many people (die) in the most atrocious ways. I’ll fight for peace with all my might,” he told Euronews.
Marcjanna Marcinkowski didn’t mince her words: “I’m very worried about what’s going to happen now with this nutty Vladimir Putin and that complete jerk, Donald Trump,” she said.
In his speech, Macron echoed a similar sentiment, warning against complacency in the face of today’s tensions.
“We will never be done fighting for victory and defending peace,” said the French President.
“We will never be done asserting our country’s place, defending our independence and our freedom. So yes, there will always be France. And with it, Europe, our Europe, and our peace.”