France and UEFA propose to commemorate fraternal 1914 Christmas truce matches

France, through Valérie Fourneyron, the Minister for Sports, has called on the 28 countries of the European Union to support UEFA's (Union of European Football Associations) initiative to commemorate, at the end of 2014, the centenary of the impromptu matches that were played between enemy soldiers during the Christmas truce of 1914, on the 26/11/2013.

Allied and German soldiers organised games on the battlefields of the Western Front in Belgium and northern France, on Christmas Day 1914. In a move that was condemned by their superiors, the soldiers laid down their arms and came out of the trenches. They then sang Christmas carols together, and played a football match.

"It was a great moment of (human) fraternity to which we now want to add a political dimension. Several countries back this idea and the Belgian government has said it would stage the matches," said Valérie Fourneyron. The games would most likely take place in Ypres, the epicentre of the bloody massacre and the truce. The minister mentioned the idea that the event could take place at the last EU summit of 2014…