On 6 August 2026, to mark the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the City of Varennes-Vauzelles (France), a member of the global Mayors for Peace network, held its second commemorative ceremony in tribute to the victims, their families, and the hibakusha.
Held on the city’s Esplanade of Peace, the ceremony brought together elected officials, institutional representatives, memorial associations, local residents, and many members of the Municipal Youth Council, who played an active role in this day of remembrance. The programme included the reading of the Hiroshima Mayor’s Peace Declaration, the official message from the Embassy of Japan in France, speeches by local elected officials, readings of testimonies from Hiroshima survivors by the young councillors, a minute of silence, the Japanese and French national anthems, and the release of balloons in the colours of the Japanese flag as a symbol of hope and peace.
As part of its ongoing awareness-raising efforts, the City is also presenting, from 3 to 21 August 2026, the exhibition “The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: From Absolute Tragedy Towards a Peaceful Future without Nuclear Weapons”, organised in partnership with the Historic Overlord Club and Mayors for Peace. The exhibition enables visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the human consequences of the atomic bombings, the history of the American-Japanese conflict during the Second World War, leading up to the creation of the global Mayors for Peace network, and highlights the continued need to advance nuclear disarmament and promote a culture of peace. Through this commemoration and exhibition, Varennes-Vauzelles reaffirms its commitment to the duty of remembrance, the transmission of memory to younger generations, and the promotion of a culture of peace, in line with the aspirations of the United Nations, convinced that remembrance is one of the essential foundations for preventing conflict and building a world free of nuclear weapons.
