The Paris City Hall will host a free outdoor screening of a historical film on Tuesday evening.

For the 82nd anniversary of the Liberation of Paris, Volker Schlöndorff's Diplomatie will be screened free of charge outdoors on the forecourt of the City Hall, on August 25, 2026.

An outdoor cinema session right in the heart of Paris, with the Hôtel de Ville as a backdrop and History in the background. On Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 9:00 PM, the film Diplomatie, by Volker Schlöndorff, will be projected on the place de l’Hôtel de Ville – Esplanade de la Libération, in the 4e arrondissement. This exceptional and free screening caps off a day dedicated to the 82nd anniversary of the Liberation of Paris. Access to the forecourt will be possible from 8:15 PM, but it’s wise not to arrive at the last minute: seating is limited.

Released in 2014, Diplomacy takes us to the night of August 24–25, 1944, just as Paris stands on the cusp of liberation. Volker Schlöndorff’s film pits Dietrich von Choltitz, the German military governor of Paris played by Niels Arestrup, against Raoul Nordling, the Swedish consul general portrayed by André Dussollier. Based on Cyril Gély’s play, this tense, claustrophobic drama imagines their confrontation as von Choltitz has been ordered by Hitler to destroy the city and Nordling attempts to avert the catastrophe. A fictionalized account drawn from the real exchanges between the two men in August 1944, freely reinterpreted for the screen.

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The choice of film and venue is, of course, anything but random. On August 25, 1944, the surrender of German forces in Paris signaled the final act in the fighting to liberate the capital. 82 years to the day later, Diplomacy will be screened just a few hundred meters from the very spots where part of that history unfolded. The screening will be preceded by a historical commemoration starting at 5:30 p.m. on the Esplanade de la Libération, this year arranged as six tableaux. Several additional commemorative ceremonies are also planned across Paris from August 23 to 25.

82 years since the Liberation of Paris: the full schedule of commemorations and ceremonies
To mark the Liberation of Paris in August 1944, the capital will stage commemorations from August 23 to 25, 2026, to celebrate its 82nd anniversary in grand fashion! [Read more]