PM Modi, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, visited the Mazargues Cemetery in Marseille city and paid tribute to the Indian soldiers who made supreme sacrifices in the World Wars. PM Modi laid a wreath composed of tricolour-themed flowers at a solemn ceremony held at the site.
The Mazargues Cemetery, which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), commemorates a large number of Indian soldiers.
According to the website of the CWGC, “There are now 1,487, 1914-18, and 267, 1939-45, war casualties commemorated on this site. 205 of the Indian casualties, who were cremated, are commemorated on a memorial at the rear of the cemetery.” The Mazargues Indian Memorial was unveiled by Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood in July 1925.
“In addition, eight members of the Egyptian Labour Corps, who were buried in Le Canet New Communal Cemetery at the time but whose graves were later lost, are commemorated on a stone tablet on the left-hand wall of the war cemetery,” it said. The cemetery covers an area of 9,021 sq m, as per the CWGC website.
On Wednesday, PM Modi and President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurated India’s new consulate in France’s Marseille city.
The two leaders jointly inaugurated India’s new consulate in Marseille with the press of a button amid cheers from the gathered crowd. Many of these people had come bearing national flags of both India and France, while some sported a tricolour headgear, adding colour to the occasion.
(With PTI inputs)