World leaders, including Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari gathered under driving rain in Paris on Sunday to lead global commemorations marking 100 years since the end of World War I, at a time of growing nationalism and diplomatic tensions.

Around 70 leaders, among whom were US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin marked the centenary of the 1918 Armistice in the French capital at 11am local time (1000 GMT).

After church bells rang out across France, the leaders sat together at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe for a memorial that included classical music and the reading aloud of letters by WWI soldiers.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a near 20-minute speech that called on his fellow leaders not to forget the lessons of the past and the hopes of people worldwide for peace.

“Ruining this hope with a fascination for withdrawal, violence or domination would be a mistake for which future generations would rightly find us responsible,” Macron told them.

He added: “Let us build our hopes rather than playing our fears against each other.”

The service concluded with the bugle call that was played at 11am on November 11, 1918 to signal the end of fighting on the Western Front.

.The Paris Peace Forum, conceived by Macron, is intended to highlight the importance of international institutions in helping resolve conflicts, avert wars and spread prosperity.

About 70 current-day nations were involved in WWI, which had six empires and colonial powers at its heart: Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

Around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during the fighting and more than double that number wounded.

Between five and 10 million civilians are estimated to have been killed. (NAN)

•President Buhari arriving Musee D’Orsay on Saturday , where he joined other world leaders attending #ParisPeaceForum in Paris for a welcoming dinner hosted by the French President