Macron leads national ceremony for terrorism victims

French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to victims and survivors of terrorism, as well as their families, in a sombre speech at Trocadero in central Paris.

Beneath a tree, the names of places where attacks took place in France. REUTERS - GONZALO FUENTES

King Filipe VI of Spain joined Macron at the ceremony during which 98 people were awarded medals in recognition of their suffering.

The French president paid tribute to the trained First Responders and also to the ordinary people who reached out to help in those in need.

Macron praised their selflessness and their sense of nationhood and told survivors and the families of victims that the French state would always stand beside them.

Members of an organisation representing victims of the 2016 Nice attacks, when a jihadist drove through crowds celebrating Basitlle day, leaving 86 people dead, chose to boycott today’s service.

The Promenade des Anges group objected to the involvement of François-Xavier Lauch in the preparation of today's ceremony.

Lauch, the principal private secretary to Macron, has been named as an "assisted witness" in an investigation into possible security failures in the arrangements for the Bastille Day celebrations in Nice.

A spokesperson for the presidency denied that Lauch played a role in the organisation of the ceremony.

The national remembrance service will take place every year on 11 March, which is already the European Day to commemorate victims of terrorism.

The date was chosen because it marked the day in 2004 of the worst terrorist attacks on European territory since 1988, the bombings in Madrid.