French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday called for an end to contempt and hate at ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Paris' liberation from Nazi occupation.

"Today, I call on our compatriots, notably the younger generations, to be loyal to this ideal of liberty, equality and fraternity for which free and resistant French people fought and sacrificed," said Chirac in a speech at the square of Paris City Hall.

"I call to defend everywhere our values, which are our common heritage, our message, our pride, the great campaign of France," he said.

"I call for vigilance and spirit of resistance to stop contemptand hate for others, always in existence, which are the somberest side of man's soul," he noted, referring to the anti-Semitic acts that soared recently in France.

Source: Xinhua