Paris
Between July 14th and 27th, 1794, 1306 people were guillotined on the Place de la Nation. To get rid of the bodies, the Revolutionaries decided to requisition an abandoned field near a convent, and in order to bury the bodies there. In 1802, the families and the descendants of those who had been executed bought the field to create the Picpus cemetery to give tribute to their dead. Still today, only the descendants of the «Guillotined» can be buried in this private cemetery, which has been the last residence for many great names of the 18th century aristocracy.
Among the graves of the Picpus cemetery, there is a very particular one. Indeed, a certain Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Mottier, also known as the Marquis de Lafayette is buried in this cemetery. This Frenchman joined the American Independents during the Independence War. So, each 4th of July (Independence day in the USA ), his grave is flowered.But here is an odd thing: the stars and stripes flag that waves over Lafayette's grave is without any doubt the only stars and stripes that has never stopped waving inside Paris since 1834. Even during the German occupation years.