70th Anniversary of D-Day
The region of Normandy is commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014 with a rich and unprecedented program of cultural events and festivities. The greatest amphibious landing in military history, D-Day sparked the 77-day long Battle of Normandy that eventually led to the liberation of Paris in August, 1944 and the rest of Europe in May of 1945. With festivities year-round, the annual D-Day festival will take place from June 5 to August 21, 2014. The official international ceremony celebrating this major anniversary will take place on Sword Beach and will be attended by President Barack Obama, French President François Hollande and other Allied Heads of State on June 6. Sites, museums, places of remembrance, exhibitions, festivals, shows and entertainment can be enjoyed throughout the year. Most notably, there will be a Giant Picnic on Omaha Beach on June 7 which attracts 1,500 people per year of all nationalities as well as synchronized fireworks in 24 key sites of the Landing Beaches from June 1 to June 9. For more information about this anniversary and upcoming events, please click here: www.the70th-normandy.com [2]

Liberation of Paris
Achieved August 25, 1944, the Liberation of Paris marked the end of four years of occupation during World War II. Hearing of the rapid allied advance during the mid-August battle of the Falaise Gap in Normandy, the French resistance, supported by city’s police, the gendarmerie and the workers of Paris begin an insurrection on August 19. The Second French Armored division led by General Leclerc and Fourth Division of the American Infantry make their way to Paris, entering the city on August 24 and 25. At 12:30 p.m. on August 25, 1944, the French flag was flown for the first time in four years from atop the Eiffel Tower. At 3:30 p.m. German Military governor General Von Cholitz officially surrenders to Leclerc. Around two million Parisians headed to the streets to celebrate the end of the German reign.

100th Anniversary of the Beginning of World War I
From August 1914 to November 1918, France was the stage for the most violent and deadly war that history had ever known. For 5 years, from the North Sea to the Swiss border, with a front line over 600 miles long, millions of men from France, Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, America, Russia, India and Senegal, and right across the five continents, armed with the most modern and powerful weapons of the day, fought one another on almost a daily basis. Their battles and their deaths stained French soil and seared the memory of the world but have also inspired contemporary hopes of international peace. To find out more about the commemorative events held throughout 2014, please click here: centenaire.org/en [3]

50th Anniversary of the Fondation Maeght
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Marguerite and Aimé Maeght Foundation is one of the major international institutions dedicated to innovation and creation. This private foundation of modern and contemporary art is located near the village of Saint-Paul de Vence, 25 km from Nice. The Maeght Foundation owns one of the largest collections of paintings, sculptures and graphic works of the twentieth century in Europe. For more information about this anniversary and upcoming exhibits, please click here: www.fondation-maeght.com [4]

150th Birthday of Toulouse-Lautrec
Born in the city of Albi located in the region of the Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse Lautrec was one of the greatest fin de siècle artists who captured Paris' cabarets and dance halls in a completely revolutionary manner. This anniversary will be celebrated at the Toulouse Lautrec Museum in Albi with the exhibit "Toulouse-Lautrec – Maurice Joyant: The friend, the collector," on view from Octboer 25th 2014 to January 25th 2015. For more information about this anniversary, please click here: www.museetoulouselautrec.net [5]