On the 11th of November at 11 a.m., the French students attending Saint Maur International School met with the French Embassy of Tokyo at the Yokohama Foreigners Cemetery to commemorate the victims of the First World War.

Remembrance Day is a national holiday in France and Belgium and therefore an important day for our French community in Yokohama. After a speech followed by two minutes of silence, the French students sang the French national anthem and everyone attending joined in. The French students practised singing it for about a week and felt a little nervous, but very happy about performing it to a large audience. Afterwards, four Saint Maur French students laid down flower wreaths, which is a traditional part of the ceremony. Members of our French community were present to take part in this commemorative ceremony which ended at the entrance of the cemetery by the gravestone with all the soldiers' names with one more speech and flowers for victims of the First World War. It was a great opportunity for our French community to come together and our students to remember all those who sacrificed their lives in the war. At the end of the ceremony, the French students engaged in conversations with the French soldiers to learn more about the meaning of their different uniforms, hats and embellishments and learned a lot from them.