French President François Hollande has paid homage to World War Two veterans and fallen soldiers in a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Mediterranean island of Corsica, reports FRANCE 24.
Commemorations this year include a rare – and long-overdue – tribute to Moroccan veterans who played a decisive role in the first victory in reclaiming France from Nazi occupation.
Eight months before allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, Free French Forces, joined by thousands of soldiers for North African colonies and protectorates, triumphed over German soldiers, declaring the island free on October 4, 1943.
History books have often overlooked this symbolic win, and Paris has long neglected the Moroccan soldiers – known as the “goumiers” – who bravely fought for France in Corsica and elsewhere.
Many of those veterans died in anonymity and poverty. A few goumiers are still alive to tell their story.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.