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Fireworks explode over the Paris town hall Thursday during ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation. More than 100 World War II vehicles rolled across the capital, cheered by thousands of flag-waving residents, in a re-creation of the liberation of Aug. 25, 1944. A thanksgiving service was held at Notre Dame Cathedral, ending with the sound of bells ringing out across the Left Bank district. Fifty years earlier, church bells throughout the city, which had been silenced during the occupation, signaled to the population that they were free. The celebration continued Friday with a parade.