French President Emmanuel Macron and Achille Muller, 98, last survivor of the Free French Forces, attend a ceremony to pay homage to the Saint Marcel maquis, a force of French Resistance fighters during World War II and the French SAS (Special Air Service) paratroopers, in Plumelec, Brittany, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy, France June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
SAINT-LO, France (Reuters) -As world leaders gathered to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the thousands of civilian victims of Allied bombardments on that day and in the months-long Battle of Normandy that followed.
Thousands of Allied soldiers died on June 6th, 1944, on the beaches of Normandy, but so did French civilians. Estimates of the numbers of civilians killed in Normandy as allies took back control of the region range from 13,000-20,000.
