PARIS, Sept 7: At the very moment that most of the world will be turning its attention this coming Thursday to New York City, and especially lower Manhattan, to memorialize September 11, 2001, the city of Paris has decided that it’s perhaps more important to celebrate another September 11 — that in 1973 which saw Chile’s democratically-elected head of state, Salvador Allende, shot down by forces loyal to his successor, military dictator Augusto Pinochet, during a coup d’etat financed and staged by the CIA.

On Thursday, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe says he will devote most of the day to various ceremonies marking the 30th anniversary of the 1973 coup against Salvador Allende. He will spend the morning dedicating a new square in honour of President Allende and also unveil a special plaque in the 7th arrondissement of the French capital.