Arc de Triomphe Timeline

Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, following the Franco-Prussian War, one of several occasions on which foreign armies paraded past the monument.

Apparently, on the day the Battle of Verdun began in 1916, the sword carried by the figure of the Republic in the La Marseillaise sculptural group on the arch broke off, an event popularly seen as an omen.

Image source: Battle of Verdun

Jean Navarre was the pilot who had been tasked with flying under the Arc de Triomphe, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight.

Image source: Jean Navarre

Three weeks before Charles Godefroy's flight, French and Allied troops held a famous victory parade around the Arc de Triomphe marking the end of hostilities in World War I.

Image source: Défilé de la Victoire

On 7 August 1919, three weeks after the Paris victory parade, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the Arc de Triomphe's primary vault, with the daring stunt captured on newsreel.

Image source: Charles Godefroy

It was originally decided on 12 November 1919 to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Panthéon, but a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe instead.

Image source: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The coffin of the Unknown Soldier was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc de Triomphe on 10 November 1920, ahead of its final interment.

Interred on Armistice Day 1920, an eternal flame burns in memory of the dead who were never identified, now honoring soldiers lost in both world wars. A ceremony is held every 11 November on the anniversary of the Armistice signed by the Entente Powers and Germany in 1918.

The coffin of the Unknown Soldier was put in its final resting place beneath the Arc de Triomphe on 28 January 1921. The slab bears the inscription: Ici repose un soldat français mort pour la Patrie, 1914–1918.

Famous victory marches around or under the Arc included the Germans in 1940 during the occupation of France. Adolf Hitler observed the custom of not marching through the actual arch itself.

Image source: German military administration in occupied France during World War II

Famous victory marches included those of the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier, all military parades avoided marching through the actual arch, a custom observed by both Adolf Hitler in 1940 and Charles de Gaulle in 1944.

Image source: Liberation of Paris

Replicas that used the Arc de Triomphe's design as a model include the Rosedale World War I Memorial Arch in Kansas City, United States, completed in 1924.

Image source: Rosedale World War I Memorial Arch

The Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest, Romania, completed in 1936, is among the replicas that used the Parisian Arc de Triomphe's design as a model.

Image source: Arcul de Triumf

Paris's Arc de Triomphe was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, which stands 67 m (220 ft) high.

Image source: Monumento a la Revolución

By the early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching.

In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a new arch, the Grande Arche de la Défense, was built in 1982, completing the line of monuments that forms Paris's Axe historique, which runs from the courtyard of the Louvre to La Défense.

Image source: Grande Arche

The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982, is modeled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m (197 ft), making it one of several international replicas inspired by the Paris monument.

Image source: Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)

In 1995, the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria placed a bomb near the Arc de Triomphe which wounded 17 people as part of a campaign of bombings in France.

Image source: Armed Islamic Group of Algeria

On 12 July 1998, when France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating Brazil 3–0 at the Stade de France, images of the players including double goal scorer Zinedine Zidane and their names along with celebratory messages were projected onto the arch.

Image source: 1998 FIFA World Cup final

A miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe opened at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas, United States, in 1999, part of the hotel's homage to the French capital.

Image source: Paris Las Vegas

Inside the monument, a permanent exhibition conceived by artist Maurice Benayoun and architect Christophe Girault opened in February 2007, presenting the history of the arch to visitors.

The Simpang Lima Gumul Monument in Kediri, Indonesia, completed in 2008, is among the replicas that used the Arc de Triomphe's design as a model.

Image source: Simpang Lima Gumul Monument

In late 2018, the Arc de Triomphe suffered acts of vandalism during the yellow vests protests, with graffiti and damage inflicted on parts of the monument during demonstrations.

Image source: Yellow vests protests

In September 2021, the Arc was wrapped in a silvery blue fabric and red rope, as part of L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, a posthumous project planned by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude since the early 1960s.

Image source: L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped