At the invitation of French President Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder joined 23 other heads of state and government leaders in commemorating the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy (D-Day). Schröder’s participation was a first – up to that point, no German Chancellor had ever taken part in the official D-Day anniversary celebrations. Although word of Schröder’s participation had drawn advance criticism from certain quarters – especially for British veterans’ associations – the manner in which he comported himself at the festivities drew praise from the international press. In his address at the French-German festivities in Caen, the chancellor emphasized the duty to “resist racism, anti-Semitism, and totalitarian ideologies” and praised the “European partnership” between France and Germany. At the Ranville War Cemetery, Schröder laid two wreathes to honor the soldiers buried there – 2,200 soldiers from the British Commonwealth and 322 German soldiers; he then lingered for a while at the grave of an unknown German soldier.