Charles de Gaulle's grandson called Victory Day a great holiday of peace

Pierre, the grandson of former French President Charles de Gaulle, attended the parade in Moscow in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) and noted that it was a celebration for peace. On May 9, a relative of the former French leader spoke about his impressions in an interview with Izvestia.

"It's a wonderful day and a great joy. We celebrate the end of World War II together with the Chinese, together with all the former Soviet republics, together with the Russians," de Gaulle said.

He recalled that the liberation of France from the Nazi invaders was the result of the joint efforts of the French resistance and the Red Army fighters.

"This is a celebration for peace, and I hope that we will achieve peace. We all want peace," de Gaulle said.

A relative of the former French leader clarified that he had come to the celebration with his family and they were happy to celebrate this Great Day of Victory over the Nazis. He stressed that the memory of the war is especially important because such events can happen again, which means it is necessary to learn from the past and resolutely resist Nazism and any manifestations of extremism.

Distant loved ones: how to search for relatives who disappeared during the Great Patriotic War

What you need to consider when working with archives and online databases

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked foreign delegations at an official reception for coming to Moscow to celebrate the anniversary of the Victory on Red Square.

This year, more than 25 foreign leaders, as well as military personnel from countries friendly to Russia and foreign delegations came to the parade in the capital. More than 11 thousand military personnel took part in the parade, including 1.5 thousand special operation soldiers.