Page "Arc de Triomphe" Paragraph 8

Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became the rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day Military Parade.

Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945.

A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the Arc de Triomphe in the background as victorious American troops march down the Champs-Élysées and U. S. airplanes fly overhead on 29 August 1944.

After the interment of the Unknown Soldier, however, all military parades ( including the aforementioned post-1919 ) have avoided marching through the actual arch.

The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism.

Both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom.