Commonwealth War Graves attends special Reviving the Flame ceremony in Paris

On Sunday, 16 November, Commonwealth War Graves attended a special Reviving the Flame ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.

The ceremony takes place each year in central Paris, where Commonwealth nations and the French government come together to affirm our continued commitment to remembrance.

Alongside ambassadors from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, the ceremony was attended by Ms Alice Rufo, the French Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs.

Commonwealth War Graves was represented by Chief Operating Officer Barry Murphy, French Area Director Jeremy Prince, Marketing and Communications Manager Europe Pascal-Louis Caillaut, and members of our marketing and outreach teams, Marlène Virey, Lucie Balin, and Thomas Capiaux.

As every year, on the occasion of the Joint Committee ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, a school class was invited to take part in the rekindling of the flame. With the support of our Foundation, a class from Collège Diderot in Dainville spent a day in Paris, where they visited the Holocaust Memorial and deepened their understanding of the World Wars before attending the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

Selected from among all the classes that had undertaken an educational project with our Education and Outreach Team in France, Collège Diderot stood out through its participation in the national competition organised by the Ministry of Education, “Je filme le métier qui me plaît” (My Dream Job on Film). 

Conducted throughout the previous year at our Visitor Centre, the project involved students interviewing our artisan colleagues to explore their passion and commitment to our organisation, earning the class a place among the competition finalists.

At the close of the ceremony, the students had the privilege of meeting Alice Rufo, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans, and Caroline Bilkey, Ambassador of New Zealand in France. Both took time to speak with the students about their motivations for participating in this moment of remembrance. They were both particularly touched by the gift presented to them — a poppy, symbol of remembrance and commitment — carefully crafted by the students themselves using a 3D printer.

Following the event, a reception was held at the New Zealand Ambassador’s residence, providing an opportunity to thank our member governments for their ongoing support and highlight some of our flagship upcoming projects.