Montpellier war memorial, War memorial at Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, Montpellier, France

The Montpellier war memorial is a semicircular Corinthian colonnade on a stepped base, set in the southeast corner of the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle. Its entablature reads "MONTPELLIER A SES ENFANTS MORTS POUR LA PATRIE", and above it 16 panels carry place names including AIGNE, CHAMPAGNE, ORIENT and VERDUN. A stair leads to an underground walkway lined with the names of more than 2,200 soldiers.

The memorial was designed following a decision on November 18, 1918, and inaugurated in 1923. Architect Jacques-Léon Février created this commemorative structure in response to World War I.

The memorial's name has shifted with history: it now honours the dead of all wars, not only 1918-1918. After World War II, plaques titled Honneur and Patrie were added, followed by plaques for the Algerian War and other campaigns in French North Africa. The 16 place names above the colonnade, including the Yser region of Belgium, recall the battlefields of the First World War.

The memorial stands in the southeast corner of the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, next to the Corum congress centre. The underground walkway with the 2,200 names is reached by a staircase; the entrance is not step-free, so visitors with reduced mobility can view the colonnade and inscriptions at ground level.

The 16 place names above the colonnade, such as AIGNE, CHAMPAGNE, ORIENT and VERDUN, refer to battlefields of the First World War; the IJzer region in Belgium is among them. After the Second World War, plaques titled Honneur and Patrie were added, followed by plaques for the Algerian War and other campaigns in French North Africa.