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French WWI veteran soldier Louis de Cazenave dies aged 110

Monday, 21 January 2008

French WWI veteran soldier Louis de Cazenave dies aged 110

Louis de Cazenave, who was one of the last two surviving French veteran soldiers of World War I, has died at the age of 110, it has been reported.

Louis de Cazenave died in his sleep at his home in Brioude, central France, according to his son, who is also called Louis. This is how Louis de Cazenave would have wanted to die, the son explained – in his sleep, at home and with his family there.

Louis de Cazenave’s death means that Lazare Ponticelli, who is also 110, is now the final "poilu", or French WWI veteran.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his condolences to Louis de Cazenave's family and made his tribute to all those who died in the war.

Louis de Cazenave had fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and had been one of the 8.5 million young French soldiers who were deployed to fight against the German occupation.

Mr de Cazenave's family say his terrible experiences in the war left Louis de Cazenave a confirmed pacifist, and in Le Monde in 2005 he was quoted as saying: "War is something absurd, useless, that nothing can justify. Nothing."

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