The last night of the Fireworks Festival in Cannes found us at our regular pizza joint, La Pizza, with Allan & Diana Colby. While we were having dinner on the terrace across from the old port, we were able to catch glimpses of the parade taking place in front of us in honor of the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Cannes (and the rest of the south of France) in World War II. There are many streets in the south of France named “Rue du 24 Août” or “Avenue du 24 Août” after the celebrated event of 1944. The parade consisted mostly of U.S. military tanks and trucks with men dressed as American soldiers in their WWII camouflage uniforms, and vintage black cars with “FFI” written on the sides and carrying the French flag with the Cross of Lorraine in the center. The FFI, which stands for Forces françaises de l'intérieur (or French Forces of the Interior), was formed as the result of the unification of different movements of resistant fighters. Under the command of Général Pierre Kœnig, its goal was to liberate the départements of France, starting in the south and heading north to Paris.
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