these ghost towns that perpetuate the memory

Jean-Pierre Laparra is not a mayor like the others. His village, Fleury-devant-Douaumont, has no inhabitants. It is a ghost town that still bears the scars of the Great War. A century ago, this place still looked like any other town. Today it is a forest.

Here, history resurfaces regularly, since a disastrous summer day in 1916. On July 11, the Germans launched a major offensive to seize Verdun. Fleury is on their way. 120-150 thousand tons of shells fall here in 24 hours. The town is permanently wiped out. 5-10 thousand soldiers were never found. Sometimes, some reappear from the earth. The authorities chose not to rebuild the village, and a forest was planted as a shroud.