You're reading: French president remembers war dead on Nov 11

PARIS — President Francois Hollande is reviewing troops around Paris' iconic Arc de Triomphe and laying a wreath on the tomb of the unknown solider beneath the arch to commemorate France's war dead.

Nov. 11 marks the signing of the truce that ended the fighting in World War I and had previously been reserved for remembering the more than 1 million French soldiers killed in that war.

Hollande was accompanied Sunday by the children of soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan — a nod to the country’s decision last year to commemorate all of its war dead on Armistice Day.

Hollande will later pay homage to students who defied a German order not to commemorate the Armistice in 1940, when northern France was under occupation.