Commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in southern France have been partially canceled due to the threat of thunderstorms.
French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to hold a reception with other heads of state aboard the Dixmulder amphibious helicopter carrier, but it has been cancelled.
A planned reenactment of the landing at Toulon was also cancelled.
The landings in Provence played a key role in the liberation of France during World War II, allowing the Allies to regain much of southern France.
Sometimes called the Forgotten D-Day, it occurred shortly after the better-known D-Day.
The Elysée Palace said shortly before the commemoration began that receptions would no longer be held at the Dixmuude Palace.
Meanwhile, the Var regional government said in a statement that the re-enactment at the Lido Beach in Muryon had been canceled due to “unfavorable weather conditions and significant storm risk”.
Severe storms and heavy rain are expected in the area, with winds reaching 140 km/h (87 mph).
The Provence landings began on August 15, 1944, when approximately 100,000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of the French Riviera.
They were followed by 250,000 soldiers, recruited mainly from French colonies in North and sub-Saharan Africa.
However, it took decades for people to emphasize the role they played in commemorating military actions.
“France has forgotten about us, but they are making up for lost time,” said Omar Dume, a former Senegalese infantryman who attended the ceremony, according to AFP.
Speaking at a ceremony at Broulis National Cemetery in the town of San Rafael, Macron said those taking part in the landings were fighting for “the right to self-determination, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He praised the key role played by African soldiers, often recruited by force, from what is now Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Togo, Morocco and Niger.
“They accomplished the job that day and in the days that followed, knowing that there was great danger involved. Yet they accomplished it with courageous audacity and undeniable strength.”
The French president was joined by six African leaders, including Cameroon’s Paul Biya and Central African Republic’s Faustin-Archange Touadera.
“Without the contribution of other peoples, without the contribution of foreigners, the Allied victory would not have been possible,” Biya said in his speech.
He added: “These brave soldiers from West Africa, Equatorial Africa, Madagascar or the Indian Ocean have done an outstanding job.
“They paid a heavy price for their victory. They were model warriors, often heirs to ancient war traditions, and their courage, courage and loyalty were admirable.”
Soldiers from the Provence landings, known as Operation Dragoon, played a key role in capturing the major Mediterranean ports of Marseille and Toulon and increased pressure on Nazi forces by opening a new front.
