The ashes of Armenian genocide survivor and hero of the French Resistance, Missak Manouchian, were on Wednesday inducted into the Paris Panthéon – 80 years after he and his comrades were executed during the Nazi occupation.

The solemn ceremony shines a light on the significant role that foreigners played in the liberation of France.

Manouchian’s wife Mélinée – also part of the Resistance – joined her husband in the mausoleum of revered historical figures in line with the wishes of his family.

She survived the war and died a French citizen in 1989.

In a speech in front of their coffins in the monument's nave, French President Emmanuel Macron said Manouchian had wanted to be a poet, but instead became "a soldier in the shadows".

The decision to give him France's highest posthumous honour was taken by Macron in 2023.

The names of 23 of his communist comrades – including Polish, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish and Romanian fighters – will be added to a commemorative plaque inside the Panthéon.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended the ceremony despite suggestions by Macron that the presence of her National Rally party would be disrespectful.

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Born in 1906 in what was then the Ottoman Empire, Manouchian was an orphan and a survivor of the Armenian genocide of 1915 and 1916.

"In their footsteps walked inspectors from the police headquarters."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/armenian-resistance-hero-manouchian-join-090912635.html