l'Arc de Triomphe as a Symbol

The Arc de Triomphe has been and continues to be a major symbol of what France is and strives to be.  This monument dates back to 1806 when Napoleon wanted to build an arc glorifying the French army, Grande Armée.  It was finished in 1836, complete with four towering reliefs along each of the sides.  One of the most significant of these is La Marseillaise.  Similar to the nationalistic song, the artwork symbolizes the calling forth of the people of France.  Not only does the Arc de Triomphe bring us back to the nationalistic roots of France, but it also has continued to be present through out the times.  For instance, during WWI an unidentifiable French soldier lost his life.  By burying him beneath the monument, he symbolizes both the effort and the loss of the war.  In 1961, John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy paid their respects to the WWI tomb of the unknown soldier.  Two years later, after his death, his wife requested that an eternal flame, like the one above the tomb, was placed above his grave at the Arlington National Cemetery.  Being one of the major symbols of France, many events have been centered around it. More recently, in 1995 during the time of the Algerian opposition movements, a bomb went off near the Arc de Triomphe, wounding seventeen people.  The Arc de Triomphe is more over a representation of the triumph of France's past, the history through their eyes and what they strive to be.