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| French and German leaders mark Verdun battle centenary | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are marking the 100th anniversary of the battle of Verdun, the longest of World War One. | |
| Hundreds of thousands of French and German soldiers died during 10 months of fighting in north-eastern France. | Hundreds of thousands of French and German soldiers died during 10 months of fighting in north-eastern France. |
| France eventually emerged victorious. | France eventually emerged victorious. |
| But today Verdun is seen as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation, and Mr Hollande and Ms Merkel are expected to renew a call for European unity. | But today Verdun is seen as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation, and Mr Hollande and Ms Merkel are expected to renew a call for European unity. |
| Verdun: France's sacred symbol of healing | Verdun: France's sacred symbol of healing |
| The ceremonies started with the leaders visiting the German military cemetery at Consenvoye, just north of Verdun. Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel stood in the rain as a band played the French and German national anthems. | |
| The leaders will move on to a ceremony at Verdun city hall, before laying wreaths and unveiling a memorial in the city. | |
| The main commemorative ceremony will be at Ossuary Douaumont in the afternoon, where both leaders will make speeches. | |
| The commemoration events are mainly focusing on educating young people, and will involve some 4,000 French and German children. | |
| Speaking ahead of the commemorations, Ms Merkel said: "To be invited to these commemorations shows the extent to which relations between France and Germany are good today." | |
| "Europe faces difficult tasks, there is no doubt about that," she said, in what was seen as a reference to the EU's continuing economic problems, its attempts to deal with a huge influx of migrants and sharp differences among individual states on the future of the 28-member bloc. | "Europe faces difficult tasks, there is no doubt about that," she said, in what was seen as a reference to the EU's continuing economic problems, its attempts to deal with a huge influx of migrants and sharp differences among individual states on the future of the 28-member bloc. |
| But Ms Merkel stressed that "Europe has also done and achieved many things". | But Ms Merkel stressed that "Europe has also done and achieved many things". |
| The battle of Verdun, 21 February - 15 December 1916 | The battle of Verdun, 21 February - 15 December 1916 |
| What caused Verdun to be the longest battle of WW1? | What caused Verdun to be the longest battle of WW1? |