Flags at halfmast for Reagan

2004-06-06 12:29

Colleville-Sur-Mer, France - The US and French flags flew at half-mast for the late US president Ronald Reagan on Sunday in D-Day ceremonies where the current president, George W Bush, hailed him as a great leader.

"He was a courageous man himself and a gallant leader in the cause of freedom," Bush said after laying a wreath to US war dead at the vast military cemetery here overlooking the Normanday beaches.

A spokesperson for the US army said the Stars and Stripes was flying at half-mast in tribute to Reagan, who died aged 93 in California on Saturday, rather than as a mark of respect to those who died in the D-Day landings.

Bush learned of Reagan's death while dining in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac on Saturday.

The French tricoleur national flag was also at half-mast and a French military spokesperson said: "We associate ourselves with the American gesture."

But Chirac did not mention Reagan in his address at the ceremony.

- AFP