The Arc de Triomphe is illuminated during Paris's New Year's Eve countdown on the Champs-Élysées.
The monument stands at the western end of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and forms the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle. On New Year's Eve, large crowds gather along the avenue while projections and light effects are displayed on the arch, followed by a midnight celebration.
Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe after the victory at Austerlitz in 1805. Construction began in 1806, but the monument was not completed until 1836, during the reign of King Louis Philippe. It honors those who fought for France, and the names of victories and generals are carved into its surfaces.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies beneath the arch. Its eternal flame, first lit in 1923, commemorates unidentified French soldiers who died in World War I.