May 8 marks the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Western Europe.*
On May 7, 1945, at 2:41 a.m., an initial act of German capitulation was signed in Reims. The fighting was to cease at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, French time. The news was officially communicated in France only the following day.
On May 8, at 3 p.m., the bells of all French churches officially rang to mark the end of the war, while General de Gaulle made the announcement on the radio. “The war is won. Here is the victory. It is the victory of the United Nations and it is the victory of France,” declared General de Gaulle.
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory on May 8, 1945, Adolphe Colrat, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Christian Estrosi, Deputy-Mayor of Nice, Eric Ciotti, Deputy, President of the Alpes-Maritimes Department, and Colonel Jean-Pierre Bรฉdu, Departmental Military Delegate of the Alpes-Maritimes, will celebrate the Allies’ victory and the end of the Second World War.
The ceremony will take place at Place May 8 and at the War Memorial starting from 10 a.m.
