Every evening at 6:30 pm, under the Arc de Triomphe, a small group of veterans walks to a bronze flame set in the ground and turns it up. They have done it since 1923. Cars roar around the Étoile, tourists photograph the arch, and most of them never notice the short ceremony happening right beneath it. On November 11, Paris notices.
Why does Paris stop on November 11?
On November 11, 1918, the armistice that ended the fighting of the First World War was signed in a railway carriage in the forest clearing of Compiègne, north of Paris. France had lost well over a million soldiers. Almost every town and village later raised a war memorial, and at 11 am on Armistice Day many of them still ring their bells and keep a silence.
Today November 11 is a public holiday in France. In 2026 it falls on a Wednesday. The main national ceremony takes place in the morning at the Arc de Triomphe, where the President of the Republic lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If you are in Paris that morning, expect road closures and a heavy security presence around the Étoile and the top of the Champs-Élysées. Many offices and some shops close for the day, so check opening hours before you go.
For American readers, the date will sound familiar: in the United States, November 11 is Veterans Day. In Britain, it is the day of the two-minute silence and the red poppy.
Who is the Unknown Soldier?
Nobody knows, and that is the whole point. In November 1920, eight coffins of unidentified French soldiers were brought to the citadel of Verdun. On November 10, a 21-year-old private named Auguste Thin was handed a bouquet of flowers and asked to place it on one of them. The story goes that he chose the sixth coffin because the digits of his regiment, the 132nd Infantry, add up to six.
That soldier was brought to Paris and buried beneath the arch on January 28, 1921. Look down at the granite slab and you can read the inscription: "Ici repose un soldat français mort pour la Patrie, 1914–1918". Here rests a French soldier who died for his country.
The flame that is rekindled every night
On November 11, 1923, the Minister of War, André Maginot, lit the Flame of Remembrance for the first time. Since then, veterans' associations have rekindled it every single evening at 6:30 pm, in rain, snow and heatwaves. Different associations take turns, so the faces change but the gesture does not.
You can watch from the area around the tomb, under the arch itself. It is short, quiet and free. Arrive a little early, stay respectful, and don't stand on the tomb or the flame. It is one of the few moments when the busiest roundabout in Paris feels still.
What is the blue cornflower?
Britain has the poppy. France has the bleuet, the blue cornflower. Young recruits arriving at the front in new sky-blue uniforms were nicknamed "bleuets" by older soldiers, and cornflowers kept growing in the churned-up earth of the battlefields.
After the war, two nurses at the Invalides hospital set up a workshop where wounded soldiers made small fabric cornflowers, sold to raise money for them. From 1934, the sale on November 11 became official. You will still see the little blue pins on lapels around Armistice Day and on May 8.
A new reason to visit the Arc this winter
The Arc de Triomphe is also showing a new exhibition, "Triomphe, la nuit" (Triumph at Night), from October 28, 2026 to March 26, 2027. Through photographs, paintings, posters, drawings and archive documents, it tells the story of the monument after dark: city life, tributes and memory, art and performance.
A few practical tips:
- Tickets and opening hours change, so check the official website before you go.
- The rooftop terrace is reached by a long spiral staircase of almost 300 steps; check whether the lift is in service if you need it.
- Visitors under 18 get in free.
- Use the underground passage to reach the arch. Never try to cross the roundabout on foot.
Seeing the Arc after dark
The arch is at its best at night, when it is lit up at the end of the Champs-Élysées and the flame glows below it. Time your visit for the 6:30 pm rekindling, then walk down the avenue toward Concorde. In November the sun sets well before the ceremony, so you get both.
If you would rather see Paris lit up without fighting the traffic, our Paris by Night private car tour takes you past the great illuminated monuments with a licensed guide who also drives. Want more context first? Read our short history of Paris, or our guide to what to do in Paris at night.
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