The WWI Douaumont ossuary is seen near Verdun, eastern France, March 4, 2014. The sentence reads 'This tower was given to the great deeds of Verdun by their friends from the US'. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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The WWI Douaumont ossuary is seen near Verdun, eastern France March 4, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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Crosses are seen at the WWI Douaumont ossuary near Verdun, eastern France March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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A plaque marks the place where a cafe used to stand in the village of Fleury near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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Jean-Pierre Laparra, 62, the mayor of Fleury, poses for a photograph in his village near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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Trees stand in the village of Fleury, near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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Charles Saint-Vannes, 77, the mayor of Ornes, poses for a photograph in the remains of the village's church near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT)

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A monument stands in Vaux near Verdun March 4, 2014. The quote from former French president and later prime minister Raymond Poincare reads 'Passers-by tell other people that this village died to save Verdun so that Verdun could save the world'. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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Francois-Xavier Long, 69, the mayor of Louvemont, poses for a photograph in his village near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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A road sign that reads "main street" stands in the village of Bezonvaux near Verdun March 4, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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A cross is seen at the "Tranchee des Baillonettes" (Trench of the Bayonets) monument near Verdun March 4, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSPACE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT)

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Jean Lavigne, 72, the mayor of Cumieres-le-Mort-Homme, poses for a photograph in his village near Verdun, March 6, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 6, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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A monument stands in Cumieres-le-Mort-Homme near Verdun March 5, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT)

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A WWI monument stands in Verdun March 4, 2014. A hundred years after the guns fell silent in World War One, nine villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground continue to lead a ghostly existence. Their names still appear on maps and in government records. Mayors representing them are designated by local authorities. But most of the streets, shops, houses and people who once lived around the French army stronghold of Verdun are gone. Picture taken March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CITYSCAPE MILITARY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CONFLICT)

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