Var (department) France into the Zone libre, which included the Var department. The French Fleet was sabotaged in Toulon Harbour to keep it from falling into German hands. The Maquis Vallier, a group of maquis resistance fighters, was active. On 15 August 1944 American and Free French forces land at Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime and Saint-Raphaël. The Free French fleet arrived at Toulon on 13 September. In the 1960s about one hundred thousand French citizens were repatriated from Algeria following the Algerian War of Independence and settled in the Var department. The department of Var has a surface area of 6,032 km, and 420
Basilica of St. Louis, King of France and tourists. However, because of its location along the Mississippi River and near the Gateway Arch (which provide backdrops for wedding photos) the church is often used for weddings, only ranking behind St. Francis Xavier College Church at St. Louis University in the number of Catholic marriages in the archdiocese. Built in Greek Revival style, the church is noted for its marble altars, a painting of "Saint Louis venerating the Crown of Thorns" given by Louis XVIII, King of France and Navarre, and an accurate copy of the painting of the "Crucifixion" by Diego Velázquez installed in the church in