hello and welcome to viewers from around the world joining us for this bbc news special marking the centenary of the end of the first world war. a day of commemorations is under way. world leaders including us president donald trump president vladimir putin are in paris to attend a ceremony this morning at the arc de triomphe. france's president emmanuel macron will light a flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier, before the last post sounds, followed by a minute's silence. with me throughout the morning for this special coverage is heatherjones, professor in modern and contemporary european history from university college london. and in paris, our correspondent mark lowen will be following this morning's commemorative ceremony. this is the scene live in paris. the flag is flying. president macron

has been meeting 70 world leaders ahead of those commemorative events. let'sjoin mark ahead of those commemorative events. let's join mark lowe in who is watching it all unfold. particularly poignant events in paris and president macron greeting all of those world leaders, will be very shortly observing that minute's silence. it is a pretty rainy morning in paris. president macron has been welcoming 72 heads of government, heads of state, at the elysee palace. the whole world is here in paris, with president macron at the centre of the world events today, bringing together leaders from across the world, and they will be coming here to the arc de triomphe in central paris shortly. they will be at the tomb of the unknown soldier which contains the eternal flame and as a tribute to

the 17 million lives lost in the four years of the great war. the last post will be played, there will bea last post will be played, there will be a minute's silence, a moment of commemoration, not celebration, as president macron has pitted, of the four years of the great war. also a moment for this young french leader to promote his ideals of multilateralism, of a collaborative europe, very much warning that the echoes of nationalism and authoritarianism during the interwar period are coming back now to the world with the rise of authoritarian leaders. let's discuss this with nicholas vinecourt, and political editor. there is, you have a manual macron on one wing of the political spectrum, donald trump on the other wing, and his message seems to be targeting the us president today. he

has taken this chance to host a peace forum on the 100th anniversary of the first world war. the message is that we need to put a smack preserve this rules —based world order that we set up in the wake of this enormous tragedy. and that is the theme for today. and as we have seen, donald trump either by his own choice, is out of step and a little bit on the sidelines. he did not attend a commemoration ceremony supposedly due to the rain, and he is due to fly off before the start of this peace conference. there was a meeting yesterday between emanuel macron and donald trump, an awkward meeting, not a meeting of minds between these two world leaders. we saw the contrast when there was talk about the physical affection between these two men, the handshaking and backslapping, we saw less of this,

this time, both men toning down the appearance of friendship between them. that is because, after one year of being them. that is because, after one yearof being in them. that is because, after one year of being in power, they have sort of lost their illusions. emanuel macron has tried to persuade donald trump to come back into the international order, to come back into the paris climate accord, to join this peace forum, but none of those messages seem to be getting through with donald trump. today we have this meeting which is no illusions meeting. no illusions of patching up the bridges, of rebuilding the international order. very much trying to preserve what is there, and macron is one of the main voices giving that message today. tell us a little bit more about the paris peace forum and what it represents, this is a new annual event that will be opened by president macron. this embraces what he believes in, the values he espouses. it is an attempt to

strengthen again the international order outside of the united nations, out order outside of the united nations, our commitment to peace and avoiding conflict. he is due to make certain announcements, one is about to create international cyber norms, an agreement that they will accept limits inside a conflict which is very much the big sort of war of our time. andl very much the big sort of war of our time. and i do believe that the united states will sign on to the agreement, but the president's absence from the symbolic forum is very notable indeed and quite striking. not just very notable indeed and quite striking. notjust the donald trump, at the other end of the political spectrum you have vladimir putin, whose absence from the d—day celebrations, has more balance put back to the international board. celebrations, has more balance put back to the international boardi have memories of the commemoration of the day when vladimir putin just

after the invasion of crimea by russian backed troops, he was a pariah baguette, there were questions about whether he would attend the ceremony, he was sidelined, there were awkward exchanges and he was a man under pressure at that point, but now that the world order is very much changed, he is welcomed here. there is no question of excluding him. the crimea question is not resolved. the question of russia's involvement in the us election is not involve —— result. but we have western leaders, emanuel macron, we can do at home, donald trump has just lost the house of representatives after elections in the united states, so there is a rebalancing in the united states, so there is a re balancing of the in the united states, so there is a rebalancing of the importance of these figures. symbolic, the fact that europe is coming together for these commemorations 100 that europe is coming together for these commemorations100 years on at a time when britain is about to leave the european union, theresa

may is not there, she is back in london. a clash of the messages, i suppose. 0n london. a clash of the messages, i suppose. on one hand you have the ever closer europe of emanuel macron, and on the other hand you have britain leaving. that is another sign of the fracturing of the international order, the european order which was set up to preserve european order which was set up to preserve peace european order which was set up to preserve peace and prosperity within the european bloc, and it is another facet of this process that the fracturing of the international compact between these victorious nations of world war i. thank you very much indeed. a very rainy morning. the weather is getting worse. perhaps it will begin to clear as world leaders make their way to the arc de triomphe for these commemorations that will take place later on this afternoon. we understand the convoys are beginning to come up to the tomb of the unknown soldier. we will rejoin you

once there are more events happening here. it will be a moment of quiet contemplation, certainly and not in any way some kind of celebration of the mass slaughter as president macron has said, but rather a moment to think about the lives lost and to think about the future of the europe which he passionately believes in. thank you very much indeed, mark. we are concentrating on events in paris, because we are going to have that minute's silence in just over 20 minutes' time. we wait for that. waiting for those commemorative events to unfold. let's talk to heatherjones, professor of modern and contemporary european history from university college london. we are focusing on paris because 100 yea rs are focusing on paris because 100 years ago, the armistice was about to happen. just bring a picture of how the war was coming to an end. the war was not expected to end so

suddenly at the end of 1918. the germans had exhausted themselves with their offences and counter offences in the summer but the british and french approach the german army back and it started to colla pse german army back and it started to collapse would surrender in large numbers and that's why as we get to the armistice, the military command revise the german army was about to collapse. and for the french this is a particularly important moment. they lost 1.3 million men in this conflict, a huge number, they are very much trying to push the germans back of french territory. they have been invaded and their country has been invaded and their country has been partially occupied for over four years. there is a real sense of what is at stake for france, that they can find a way to protect themselves from germany going the future. those words from president macron echoing the mood in november in paris. the french political

leader burst into tears when he hears that the armistice has been signed. the pressures were huge for the french. we were looking at commemorative events in belgium, which was devastated after the years of conflict. small parts that remained unoccupied were british and belgian troops continue to fight, and the belgian royal family returned late november after the armistice to brussels, the belgian capital to scenes of great rejoicing but in belgium there had been people deported to work at the front by the german army, deported to german factories to work in germany. malnutrition, mass hunger from factories to work in germany. malnutrition, mass hungerfrom 1959, malnutrition, mass hungerfrom1959, american food aid is effectively feeding most of the belgian population from 1915. belgium had a terrible war. many belgians came to britain as refugees and that the armistice they are looking forward to going home having spent the war in exile in the uk. tell us more about the cost. we hear so often

about the cost. we hear so often about how this was supposed to be the war to end all war. 20 million casualties. but of course nobody knows exactly. and it wasn't the war to end all wars, as we know. and yet there is such poignancy. you see children today being taught about the first world war, the slaughter on such a staggering scale. there are no real winners of the first world war. interesting that after the treaty of versailles was signed, the treaty of versailles was signed, the rocky celebrations in the allied capitals but they don't go down in history, we don't commemorate those celebrations, that moment, we commemorate remembrance day, and thatis commemorate remembrance day, and that is because it is the loss, the bereavement that even victorious states continue to mark, because the armistice, the moment of relief when this war ended, and remember that armistice is temporary, so people on the 11th didn't know that this armistice would last. it is that relief that we remember today. back

idea that it was the water end all wars, in central and eastern and south—eastern europe, war continues well after the 11th of november. we marked the end of trench warfare on the western front today but in many successful conflicts coming out of that, the russian civil war, revolution in germany, revolution in hungary, the greco turkish war, which had millions of casualties, we are looking at the war that gives rise to walls in the 1920s. we talk about the water all wars, and the seas of the second world war were planted with the aftermath of the first world war. —— the seeds. planted with the aftermath of the first world war. -- the seeds. adolf hitler experiences the armistice as a negative moment. in germany there had been peace demonstrations, they wa nted had been peace demonstrations, they wanted the war to end in an equal peace, some kind of their peace based on president wilson's 1a

points, a piece without victors, but germans did not, they believed the war was over, but hitler was devastating and weeps uncontrollably when he hears the news of this and in many ways that sponsors foreign policy when he becomes chancellor. we must remember that his turn to fascism, his ideological anti—semitism and racism, those decisions are his and it is dangerous to blame the first world warfor dangerous to blame the first world war for the dangerous to blame the first world warfor the crimes of dangerous to blame the first world war for the crimes of the nazi regime which really were their own. thank you very much indeed for the moment, heather. let mejust show you these pictures from paris. we are expecting those world leaders who have been gathering at the elysee palace being greeted by president macron. they will be leaving their very soon to go to the arc de triomphe, and that is going to be the focal point of the commemorative events in paris,

because, among the 70 world leaders who are there, and we will be seeing shortly, president trump of the united states, president putin of russia and many, many others besides. and the commemoration in paris will be centring on the team of the unknown soldier which is beneath the arc de triomphe. leaders will be on their way in the next few seconds —— on the tomb of of the unknown soldier. president macron has wanted this to be about warnings about the world today, and the need to avoid a repetition of the m ista kes to avoid a repetition of the mistakes of the past. he will be hosting later on a paris peace forum, which will take place after that memorial service on the champs—elysees, and this is intended to highlight the importance of multilateral international institutions in helping to resolve conflicts and to avert wars.

president trump will not be at that event. and of course there have been people pointing to the diplomatic difficulties, really, that president macron is representing multilateralism in this modern world, 100 years on from the end of the first world war, and donald trump is representing nationalism and countering the whole idea of multinational institutions. so that is the scene live in paris as we wait for that minute's silence, wait for those world leaders who are on their way to the tomb of the unknown soldier. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is in a damp, rather drizzly paris as we wait for events to unfold, the current world leaders there. and the eyes of the world

very much on paris at the moment. that suffered so previously, there was such loss of life in such an epic scale. and mark, aside from the politics it is important to remember for french people, they are remembering the savagery of the slaughter a century ago. they are, yes. this is where some of the worst fighting took place, where the trench warfare, that war of attrition that took place between 1914-18, attrition that took place between 1914—18, president macron pool b parts of northern france that were scarred by battle, years of war —— he made a tour of the battle sites. in areas of the country which have struggled, really, with deindustrialisation, struggled with high unemployment. there was lots of

frustration at the attempts of his political reforms to push through social reforms here as well so there was a political element to his trip over the past few days, an attempt to boost his flagging popularity. but now, yes, as you say he is very much at the centre of the world, where he has welcomed 72 government leaders and heads of state, and we have just seen the motorcade of the russian president, president putin go russian president, president putin 9° up russian president, president putin go up behind me, where he will be one of those 72 heads of state, of government, in the commemorations, as the last post is played and the wreath s are laid, there will be a minute's silence, and we saw the convoy minute's silence, and we saw the co nvoy go minute's silence, and we saw the convoy go bust of the turkish president, president erdogan, another on the opposite end of the spectrum to president macron, they are nationalist leaders, authoritarians in many ways, and

emanuel macron has warned of those echoes of nationalism and authoritarianism that are coming back to the world now and the echoes of the interwar period, and i think that his message that he will be promoting today here at the vitriol and at the paris peace forum that will open later this afternoon, which will be targeting those world leaders who he thinks threaten the liberal post—world order that sprang up liberal post—world order that sprang up after the first world war. very much or so for many people who have studied european history, watching emanuel macron, and the german chancellor angela merkel, they are so close together, and she has said, this is not just so close together, and she has said, this is notjust about remembering but should also be a call to action, really, a call to action for a better, more peaceful world.” really, a call to action for a better, more peacefulworld. iwas very struck by that powerful image yesterday. i was in compiegnes in

northern france, where the armistice was signed on the 11th of november, 1918, and the last german chancellor to visit that place was adolf hitler in1940, to visit that place was adolf hitler in 1940, when he sat in the same train carriage where the armistice was signed in order to force the humiliating surrender of france in 1940, and yesterday we saw emanuel macron and angela merkel holding hands. at one moment she put her head on his shoulder. they have signed a book of remembrance. what a powerful image of the reconciliation of europe in that post war period, as the french and german flags look, there, at the same time, two of the closest allies in europe. these are two close friends. and angela merkel now leading the elysee palace having greeted emanuel macron. she is a close friend, now, of his. she's on the much more liberal wing of europe. she waited for a kind of young, dynamic liberal leader in france for much of the

chancellorship, she now has got him and she is now on her way out of politics, she's not going to stand a chance of again. these are two european leaders who are a little bit more in the minority of global politics. well you have donald trump, president putin, the much more nationalist leaders of hungary and poland, for example, president erdogan, so a very powerful image between macron and angela merkel of reconciliation yesterday in paris and they will be hoping that the values that they are spouse will rub off on other world leaders here in paris today. france and germany at the centre of resetting europe in the centre of resetting europe in the century that we have seen since the century that we have seen since the armistice, since the end of that horrific conflict. very much the murders of european union and integration, two of the original six founders of the european union, and it was their idea, their project, to

bring together our continent torn apart by war, and how successful it has been in many ways. leading up to this point, bringing in countries as distinct as spain and portugal for example and then countries of the former eastern block, hungary, poland, the czech republic, slovakia, but the issue now is that you have a fractured continent, where issues of migration, issues of regional politics, are splitting europe ina regional politics, are splitting europe in a way that we have not had, for a long time. and that is what is worrying leaders like angela merkel and emanuel macron, and you get the sense that they are almost fighting a losing battle as more and more nationalist leader spring up around the world, the election of a new president of brazil, who is compared to the donald trump of south america. and today donald trump will be the only world leader here not to attend this paris peace

forum that will take place this afternoon. global initiative started by president macron to promote values of multilateralism and good governance but donald trump will not be attending. that then speaks volumes about the kind clash of values, of political ideology that will be on show here between those two leaders, between the different wings of global political ideology at the moment. thank you, as we continue to watch those world leaders head out from the elysee palace, down the champs—elysees to the arc de triomphe for the khmer rouge of events that will be unfolding there, shortly. let's —— for the commemorative events that will be unfolding there, shortly. as mark was saying, extraordinary to see the french president and german chancellor side by side, those motors of european unity in this century we have seen since the conflict that ended, the armistice,

that ended the first world war. conflict that ended, the armistice, that ended the first world wanm was a parable image yesterday of macron and merkel in the railway carriage. the german invaders of 1940 removed the railway carriage. it was destroyed in an aerial bombardment. so that is a replica that they were sitting in. the echoes of 1940 and the french humiliation and occupation of vichy we re humiliation and occupation of vichy were present for them, and it was extraordinary to see them sitting there side by side in a space that had been symbolic of so much hatred and pain between these two countries. seeing events at the men engaged in ypres as well, such a focus —— the menin gate. engaged in ypres as well, such a focus -- the menin gate. this was a memorial erected to chimerical those who died at the battle of ypres. it

still has the last post in memory of the ward bed every night. a very moving memorial at that site. one thing that president macron has invested in this, at the end of the board of a 12 million refugees, so it is very much linked to this moment of armistice, and league of nations had to work hard to give these stateless people are future, to try to find some place for them, giving them temporary passports. this echoes the chaos of the end of the warand this echoes the chaos of the end of the war and the dangers of nationalism that marcon and merkel are let to at the moment. there were slaughtered in such an unimaginable scale, is it possible to have accurate figures on it? bureaucracy was in its infancy, people were using card catalogues to keep record of how many soldiers died or were taken prisoner. many of the dead

have known and because of the nature of trench warfare, being killed by artillery was the commonest way to be killed so many people were blown to smithereens, so it is hard to know her many people died. you have relatively realistic numbers for western military is because they we re western military is because they were interested in how many soldiers died, but we have very few figures for civilian dead and the civilian dead are one of the secret stories of the first world war, and huge numbers of civilians suffered and died, because of the allied blockade of the central powers, the blockade of the central powers, the blockade of germany, which continues after the armistice. three quarters of a million german civilians may have died asa million german civilians may have died as a result of starvation and hungry —— hunger. so the armistice is one of civilians need to be remembered as well. in many ways, the first industrialised conflict, the first industrialised conflict, the first industrialised conflict, the first mechanised conflict, which

is why we had such staggering casualties. absolutely, the fact that you have this artillery shell fire that has been developed, using long—range shills, but the war stagnates as trench war were —— trench warfare as the men try to protect themselves by "you is means that you have huge casualties. the fa ct that you have huge casualties. the fact that you have conscription models and the idea of a war of attrition developing amongst the general 's and the idea that if you can simply bleed the enemy's manpower driving you will win, those are factors that lead to these huge casualties. and there is no supranational body that can bring these warring sides together. there are against may through the papacy, for example, but none of them can work. —— there are attempts made through the papacy. in paris preparations continue for the minute's silence. a rather damp,

chile, drizzly day in paris. we are reflecting on that conflict, the first world war —— a chillly day. the moment when those casualties could finally came to an end, 100 yea rs could finally came to an end, 100 years ago. the armistice, that brought relief, a huge outpouring of relief across europe. heatherjones, professor of modern and contemporary european history, this was a war where, many of the people you went to fight went with huge enthusiasm, didn't they? there was great patrick bos at that time, a great longing to serve your country. —— there was great patriotism. at the start people really volunteered. they actually chose to go and fight and to defend belgium for example from what they saw as a brutal

occupation. but recent history has qualified that, there was a kind of resignation. many europeans are peasant farmers, they don't want to go to warduring peasant farmers, they don't want to go to war during harvest. but it is a war that has to be fought for them. it is resignation, it is the language of endurance. and that lasts up to 1917 when the french army starts to crack and there are significant mutinies, but they never refused to defend bars, they refused to go over the top in pointless offences, but they continue to defend, but they will not go on the attack. that highlights the kind of patriotism that we are talking about. the traditional view of the officer class in the first world war was that they were just throwing men over the top almost like cattle, not caring about their troops. that has been revised to an extent, certainly here in the uk. that is an unfair

image of the high command. particularlyjunior officers as well. they lived very close to their men. statistically higher risk of being killed for them because they had the lead from the front so when they went over the top they were more likely to be killed and injured. when we look at even a generals, if you look at someone like ferdinand foch, who becomes a supreme commander with the belgians, french and americans all lining up, he had lost his son and son—in—law in the war. the generals also were suffering, but they are really stuck ina suffering, but they are really stuck in a mentality that dates from before 1914 and it is very difficult for them to start to think creatively about how they can ove rco m e creatively about how they can overcome the trench stalemate. the conflict had a momentum of its own ina conflict had a momentum of its own in a sense of other was that stalemate. and extraordinary in some ways that it came to an end when it did. the german army having effectively

won the german army having effectively won the war in the east with the russian revolution, germany occupies huge swathes of europe, they have effectively won in the east and they wa nt effectively won in the east and they want to win in the west, they exhaust themselves, 800,000 casualties in the spring offences and they cannot keep going. let us go to brussels and we will hear the minute's silence being observed in brussels. the king and queen there escorted by mounted guards. music: last post. that is the scene in brussels as the commemorative events take place with the king and queen in brussels and

in thyme, the scene at the menin gate. —— and in ypres. the last post will be sounded at ypres at the moment in 1918 when the armistice on the western front will take effect. may i please have your attention for

the chairman of the last post association. minister president, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, armistice day, 1918. they moment that will live in history and what a remarkable moment it must have been for those who experienced it, a moment no doubt of many confused and

often conflicting emotions. rejoicing that peace had come at last, relief that the misery and killing would stop, perhaps pride in what had be achieved but also mingled with sadness for what had been lost or destroyed. above all, a deep sense of grief for those who would never be coming home. as we stand here today, exactly 100 years later, which of these emotions do we still share? that is the scene in ypres and this is the scene in paris as commemorative events take place across europe 100 years on from a

day that marks the end of the conflict that had cost so many millions of lives, military and civilian, and here, leaders of the world, some 70 world leaders, walking in paris along the champs—elysees on a very damp drizzly day with umbrellas, as you can see, on their way to the arc de triomphe and the tomb of the unknown soldier. president macron, at the centre of it all, who has convened what has been called a paris peace forum that will take place after the commemorative events here, really focusing on today's world 100 years on and how to avoid conflict in today's world. mark lowen, our correspondent in paris. we are seeing the world leaders struggling with umbrellas because the wind is pretty strong, a lot of the

umbrellas seem to be flying up. this isa umbrellas seem to be flying up. this is a very sombre day as they remember the savage slaughter, the huge sacrifice made in the conflict a century ago. indeed. just a moment ago, the planes, thejets, they flew over with the blue, white and red tricolour, the commemorations are under way. we saw president putin's carp delegation coming past us a few months ago. carls also of the turkish president, the 72 heads of state begin to make their way to the arc de triomphe, the tomb of the unknown soldier, a tribute to all of

the soldiers who lost their lives in the soldiers who lost their lives in the first world war, 10 million soldiers killed in four years of fighting, events slightly delayed, i have to say. we were expecting for them to be already in place and president macron already speaking but possibly because of the weather and the tight turnaround of 72 delegations arriving at the elysee palace, it has fallen is —— it has fallen slightly behind schedule. there will be quiet contemplation of the moment when 100 years ago today the moment when 100 years ago today the guns fell silent and of course it is now after 11am so it is after the moment when the war ended 100 yea rs the moment when the war ended 100 years ago. worth bearing in mind the armistice itself was signed at 5:10am that morning. morejets in the distance. the armistice signed at 5:12am, to come into play at

11am, and between then, another 2738 soldiers asked their lives in those few hours, just showing you the brutality of what happened on a day—to—day basis. we are now in the peace period after 11am when the guns fell silent, the church bells played and when the news that the great war had come to an end filtered around europe. that is what will be reflected upon in a mood of commemoration, not celebration, as world leaders take their place around the arc de triomphe. it is really an extraordinary gathering of world leaders, not often you see so many, dozens and dozens, of world leaders, heads of state and government, gathered in

one place. apart from anything else, a huge security nightmare, presumably, for the french authorities, the french police? yeah, indeed. 10,000 police officers on duty in paris today. this is a city that has been hit by several terror attacks over the last two, three years. security has been stepped up considerably here. angela merkel side by side with emmanuel macron. the closest alliance of the 72 leaders there today. when we went to see them in northern france yesterday in the forest clearing where the armistice was signed, exceptionally tight security, two hours of getting through security with sniffer dogs and bobby searches and searches of every bag. there is and searches of every bag. there is a big security threat to this city and with so many leaders of states

and with so many leaders of states and governments here. among that group that he was seeing, there are those who champion the liberal democracy, the multilateralism of emmanuel macron and angela merkel, the values they want to promote, and those who are more nationalist, authoritarian. i was struck, i was looking at the newspapers earlier, the front page of one, a photo of emmanuel macron staring at donald trump, it said, the otherfront, an allusion to the fact that even though the guns fell silent on the western front 100 years ago, a new front is opening in a sense between nationalism and liberalism today and president macron warning the echoes of the interwar period are coming back to haunt europe and the liberal postwar order is under threat like we have rarely seen. in among the group that you can see, you have

leaders from the opposite ends of the global political spectrum, but very much macron's vision being taken for today in the opening of the peace forum where good governance and multilateralism will be promoted and one world leader who will not be there who is in paris, skipping the paris peace forum, donald trump. thank you. these are the events unfolding in paris which we are focusing on now. the viewers in the uk, just to say of course the commemorative events here will be a little bit later run, focusing on the cenotaph, a procession of 10,000 people —— later on. giving a nation's thank you to those who sacrificed their lives in the first world war, those people who will be processing passed the cenotaph, members of the public, chosen by ballot, paying their respects. for the moment, concentrating on events

in paris and let us just talked briefly to heatherjones, professor in modern and contemporary european history. mark was talking about the gap between the armistice being signed and coming into force and the number of people who lost their lives in those hours. the fighting is quite from brochures on parts of the front right up until 11am and it is quite brilliant, the last french soldiers killed at 10:50am —— quite ferocious on parts of the front. it shows how determined they were to have the best average for a peace treaty, keep fighting to that end. —— the best leveraged. 0n treaty, keep fighting to that end. —— the best leveraged. on some parts of the front, people very keen to have the war end, they do not want to be the last soldier killed. it does vary from place to place. donald trump with melania there.

talk to us about america's role in the conflict. america comes in quite late. they entered the war in april, 1917, but the majority of their troops are not on the ground until summer, 1918, a full year later. we see them taking the offensive particularly in september, 1918, very important, but it takes some time to learn to fight trench wa rfa re time to learn to fight trench warfare and it takes them time, it is the same mistakes that the british made in 1914, they learn ha rd british made in 1914, they learn hard lessons. what it has important is the american diplomatic row, woodrow wilson, in his rhetoric he offers germany the idea of a way out offers germany the idea of a way out of the conflict once the military side starts going very badly wrong for the germans in 1918, so they can approach the american president along the idea of peace without victory, some kind of peace equals.

that does not happen, the americans, they are not at that armistice signing, that is important. donald trump, one of 70 or so world leaders shaking president macron's hand once again and angela merkel, quite an array of global leaders there for these commemorative events in paris at the heart of it all this president macron. and did a few moments time, we will have a minute's silence. —— and in a few moments time. this is the scene in london. as i was mentioning a short time ago, at the cenotaph, 11 o'clock london time, there will be two—minute silence on this

centenary, marking 100 years since armistice day when world war i officially ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. a conflict that caused the deaths of some 20 million people. and a chance for people all over the world, but particularly in europe, to remember the dead, to remember the sacrifice. to remember the tragedy of that conflict. 0n to remember the tragedy of that conflict. on a wet, chilly day in paris, world leaders and the eyes of the world, really, on these commemorative events. and they centre on the tomb of the unknown

soldier beneath the arc de triomphe and as mark lowen, our correspondent, was telling us, thoughts not only about the past and the conflict, but here we see vladimir putin, russian president, thoughts about nationalism in today's world, perhaps focusing on him in particular, on other leaders gathered in paris, the turkish president,, and gathered in paris, the turkish president, , and concerns gathered in paris, the turkish president,, and concerns from multilateral lists about those who are trying to undermine multilateral institutions, that is certainly one of president macron's concerns, that is why he has convened the paris peace forum taking place after the memorial event. president putin, controversial figure of course in today's world, shaking hands with donald trump, angela merkel, melania as well. i think vladimir putin is

the last of the world leaders to arrive ahead of the silence to remember the dead of the first world warand all remember the dead of the first world war and all those who made such a staggering sacrifice. let us bring in mark lowen, our correspondent in paris, as president macron makes his way to the beginning of these commemorative events. mark. running slightly behind schedule, i think, because of the rain. president macron walking up, he will be saluting the flag and there will be the playing of the last post. and then international testimonies, international students

will be reading testimonies from the first world war shortly, some of the stories from 1918. you can see a very rainy place with the arc de triomphe. in a moment of contemplation. commentator in the french news bulletin talking about how the world is here in paris today and this is the man at the centre of the world, i suppose, today. hosted leaders from across the world, greeting his prime minister there. french national anthem plays france's 40—year—old president, the

national anthem of france having been played, this is to some extent a personal homage as well for emmanuel macron because his great—grandfather who was british fought in the battle of the song and was decorated for that. he is a man from the north of the country —— the battle of the somme. he was born in the north of the country close to where a lot of the worst fighting took place. no commander and she is, salute the flag. —— now the commander—in—chief, salute the flag. he speaks in french

another rendition of the national anthem there. on president macron's lapel, the french flag, and the cornflour, the french commemorative symbol. the equivalent of the british poppy. not the weather that president

macron would have wanted today, but i suppose also an apt reminder of the weather conditions the millions of soldiers faced in the trenches in northern france and belgium during that war of attrition. and here is the cellist born in paris in 1955, who will be playing

today in the commemoration, yo yo ma. internationally renowned cellist adding a touch of classical music to the commemoratives events.