Collonges‑au‑Mont‑d'Or and Vence host 81st May 8 Victory commemorations

On Friday 8 May 2026, the mayor of Collonges‑au‑Mont‑d'Or, Arlette Baillot, led a wreath‑laying ceremony at the town’s Monument aux Morts. The event included schoolchildren, fire‑fighters, the town flag‑bearers and a reading by the local choir. Ministers Catherine Vautrin and Alice Rufo sent messages recalling the 1945 liberation and France’s role in World War II.

In the nearby town of Vence, a series of commemorative events marked the same anniversary. A mass was held at the cathedral at 9 a.m., followed by a parade that passed from Place Clemenceau to the town cemetery. A ceremony at the Resistance monument and a reception at the local senior‑care centre took place in the presence of Mayor Anne Sattonnet, local officials and veterans’ associations. Both towns used the occasion to honor the victims of war, the heroes of the French resistance and those who later died in conflicts such as Indochina.