Celebrating Armistice Day on November 11: aspects of the combattants' memories in the interwar period

The anniversary of armistice, heir to a tradition of commemorating victorie s that dates from 1852, was a major issue of the interwar period. From 1914 , the "war days" became a veritable cult of commemoration. In Seine-et-Marn e, the centerpiece of the conflict, the festival of the "victory of the Mar ne" was the ancestor of November 11. The ceremony reflected the ideological quarrels of the moment and created an edifying combative spirit. But two c oncepts of commemoration came into collision: one of the former combattants , and one of the civil population. The first of these took the upper hand, giving rise to an original ceremonial practice, reinforcing the cult of rem embrance of the war that emanated from the culture of war. but the general bereavement did not prevent opinions from being expressed by incidents, ref lections of a new and politicized society.