Hollande, Sarkozy Lead V-E Day Ceremonies In Paris

Outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, with President-elect Francois Hollande, walk by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Paris, during a ceremony marking the end of the anniversary of World War II in Europe. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

PARIS — In his last state ceremony as France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy led commemorations Tuesday in Paris marking the end of World War II in Europe, standing side-by-side with the man who ousted him from power.

A solemn-faced Sarkozy was joined by President-elect Francois Hollande, and the two political rivals stood together at the Arc de Triomphe war memorial on the Champs-Elysees Avenue.

To the stirring anthem "The Marseillaise," Sarkozy laid a wreath at the statue of Charles de Gaulle, the former president and leader of the Free French Forces. The president also shook hands with military dignitaries, including Gen. de Gaulle's 90-year-old son, Philippe.

A cortege followed Sarkozy up the grand central artery to the Place de l'Etoile, where he and outgoing Prime Minister Francois Fillon inspected the troops.

The Arc de Triomphe has a special significance for World War II since Adolf Hitler marched his Nazi troops through the iconic monument when Germany took over France in 1940. It also was the site where Allied troops – including many U.S. soldiers – celebrated victory over Germany 67 years ago.

Sarkozy – who looked particularly downbeat throughout the ceremony – was joined by Hollande, the winner of Sunday's presidential runoff, to lay another wreath at a World War I memorial.

Putting aside their differences, the two then stood in silence for several minutes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, whose symbolic flame was made to burn brighter during the ceremony.

The rare scene of the two French leaders together will no doubt feature prominently in French newspapers. The two men met some World War II veterans before shaking hands with each other in front of the cameras.

Speaking after the ceremony, Hollande said after a "particularly" tough campaign, "it was useful and helpful for the country to know it can still come together ... around the president still in power, and the newly elected one, for the same one cause: the country."

The Socialist narrowly beat Sarkozy on Sunday to be the next president of France by just over 1 million votes. Sarkozy and Hollande will meet again May 15 at the presidential Elysee Palace for the official transfer of power.

Meanwhile, new allegations of illegal financing of Sarkozy's 2007 campaign emerged out of Belarus.

President Alexander Lukashenko told the Belarusian parliament that the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told him when he visited Belarus in 2008 that he had funded Sarkozy's campaign.

Sarkozy has strongly denied the claims, which first emerged last year.

Comments

[Yank in France]

10:55 AM on 05/09/2012

Sarkozy looks glum and I can't blame him. History will have to judge, but I think the man, whatever his many failings, is a true patriot. He worked very hard for France and did what he truly and sincerely believed best.

Unfortunately, he had some severely personality dysfunction. Millions of his voters surely knew something was wrong when, on election night 5 years ago, he went on a long  and slow motorcade to one of Paris's most expensive restaurants. A while later, he went on holidays with his brand new wife on one of Vincent Bolloré's super luxurous yacht's (the size of a US naval ship!), all paid by the Bolloré dynasty!

Sarko was known as the "Americain", but us Yanks in France are a bit baffled when we hear some like Sarko say that he is "very American". Typically, they are responding to a very, very French idea of what it is to be American. Not necessarily bad, but a bit "exotic" from our viewpoint.

Still, many of us supported Sarkozy against the left and the classic right, as epitomized by Jacques Chirac, because we saw him as the human vehicle to pushing through needed reforms and strengthen France's public finances.

To be fair, Sarko tried to push through reforms, but he was befuddled from the beginning by this idea that he needed to be neither right nor left. He opened his govt to conservative leftists, including one popular neocon, Bernard Kouchner, who, along with other supporters of the French "lobby", supported the Iraq invasion in 2003.

I believe history will judge that Sarkozy was the near perfect candidate (at least perfect, if we forget about his atrocious personality!), but once in power, he lacked vision. Whether in business, our personal lives or in politics, people need direction, as in: what are our goals and how do we achieve them?!

Sarkozy nonetheless pushed through reforms of the retirement healthcare and educational systems. They were not enough and will have to be reviewed in a few years, but it may be that that is all anyone could have done in a nation (like America) dominated by very archaic notions and where self-interest prevails over the general interest of the nation.

We shall see. in the meantime, I wish François Hollande lots of luck. I agree with him about the need to place more emphasis on growth and less on austerity. Without growth, we cannot pay down our debt and if we concentrate solely on cutting govt spending, including even profitable or necessary spending, the economy will only fall back into recession, which is precisely what is happening.

In the end, maybe it was Sarko's close link with Merkel and her austerity policies that cost him his job. No let's just hope that Hollande does better. I don't envy his job!!

[vascopyjama]

11:47 PM on 05/08/2012

Of course Sarkozy looks glum. He has to give Karla back to Mick Jagger now.

[94613]

11:17 PM on 05/08/2012

Gulash soup simmers on the back burner whilst the Tepid Broth of the next course seeps into the populaces olfactory senses.

[Lohikaarme]

07:07 PM on 05/08/2012

Sarkozy looked downbeat because the next thing he is going to lose is Carla. She doesn't want him anymore now he is just another French.

[skiman1054]

05:15 PM on 05/08/2012

thye both should have gotten down and kissed the american gravesites, as it were not for them, there would be no france!!!!

[Hajnal]

01:40 AM on 05/09/2012

And without the French, you would have no country. YOU should be the ones kissing our gravesites.

[Yank in France]

10:34 AM on 05/09/2012

Thanks for that bit of trite commentary. All we need now is a Russian to remind us that the Red Army are the ones who broke the back of the German armed forces.

As I am sure you know (lol!!), the Red Army was already flowing into Poland, practically unimpeded, when the American, British and Canadians finally landed at Normandy. 

That said, I salute our brave and valiant soliders, but three-quarters of the best German deivisions remained on the Russian Front even after the Normandy invasion. 

But most of the old veterans know that story. I have had the honor to talk to some of them and I have never, ever heard a single one of this fine men or women trash the French as you have just done!

[Deparis]

02:30 PM on 05/08/2012

Hopefully justice will catch up with him as soon as he retires. Unlike Jacques Chirac who left office with his popularity almost intact, which in turn influence popular opinion of him about allegations and criminal charges brought against him, Sarkozy leaves office as a very divisive figure even within his UMP's political family and not very much personally liked by the French. The arm sales corruption case and this illegal campaign funds from Libya and other places are sure gonna catch up with him. I trust the "Parquet de Paris" on this.

[Forever Jung]

01:23 PM on 05/08/2012

The French are to celebrate the defeat of German Socialists immediately after electing their own Socialist. Germany lost the War, yet is now expected to rescue all of Europe from themselves. Germany's loss and ostracization following the War seems to have forced them into a path of greater independence from the rest of Europe and it's dependent mentality.

[thewriter62]

12:29 PM on 05/08/2012

I'm glad and gratified to know that V-E Day, and its continual reverberating significance, has not been forgotten. Of all the supposed "must-win's" in history, WW II was the only true one. I wonder, however, whether how many Americans---especially those of mine and the present generation---ever heard of V-E Day. And have any idea of what it actually means. Maybe if our nation had suffered the physical damage incurred by the European nations, there would be here some monuments to remind people. Thank goodness we had Franklin Roosevelt in the White House, plus the proper military leaders, plus "The Best Generation" of fighting men all in place to make certain that our country did not have to fight on our soil powerful, determined, and pernicious enemies.

May 8 has another somber, but significant, manifestation: on that date, in 1942, we garnered our first victory against Japan...at the Battle of the Coral Sea, off Australia's northeastern coast. Not only was this a crucial event for the above reason, it also stopped in its tracks Japan's invasion plan for Australia.

Today, if only we had the same winning mindset and leaders---on and off the battlefield(s)---with the necessary gumption to formulate the right blueprint so our forces could properly execute it, I imagine we could do to the present malignant enemy what we did to Germany and Japan.

[pookie01nj]

01:23 PM on 05/08/2012

The victory in Japan was called VJ Day, I believe. I remember VE and VJ days. I lived "in the colonies" (British-the old plantation people!!!) at that time.

[pookie01nj]

01:27 PM on 05/08/2012

Yes, and the French people at that time were very happy to see our troops march from Normandy.

[whitefat]

12:13 PM on 05/08/2012

Downfall of another american puppet

[unkeat]

11:51 AM on 05/08/2012

I just wish Hollande would endorse a 100% income tax. It wouldn't be much more than the 75% he advocates, and it would accelerate the economic implosion his polices are certain to to inflict on the French economy. It would be a dramatic demonstration of the devastation that Socialist's high tax, high regulations policies are sure to cause, and a real warning for American voters.

[pookie01nj]

01:25 PM on 05/08/2012

Just wait, Obama wants Hollande to wait until after HIS election to implement his tax increase!

[unkeat]

03:28 PM on 05/08/2012

I heard that this morning....if it's true, it just shows that socialists like Obama really do understand that their economics destroy the destroys the economic system...they don't want high taxes because they help anyone, they just want to punish successful people, and if the economy collapses then that's just fine with them.

[Deparis]

03:11 PM on 05/08/2012

In the past 30 years, France experienced one of its best years (in every metric you would like to consider) under the 2 terms (14 years) of a socialist President. Stick to things you understand and know better about.

[unkeat]

03:26 PM on 05/08/2012

If socialism is so great, then what is wrong with a tax rate of 100%.  Have the government control everything...just think of the great things they could do, and they would have total control of everyone's decisions and lives...now, wouldn't that be a socialist's dream??

[David Pharr]

11:40 AM on 05/08/2012

I believe it time we as Americans seriously think about removing all our military cemetery from Africa, Europe and Asia. Bring the troops home and start with our war dead. There are reports of desecration of graves and striping graves of brass markers.

[hazyone]

11:13 AM on 05/08/2012

I always remember the joke that was told in France around 1948.This frenchman comes home drunk and celebrating.WIth a bottle of wine in hand he offers it to his wife and says Viva La France today I joined the Resistance.