PRES. MACRON WELCOMES GERMAN CHANCELOR SCHOLZ FOR 60th ANNVERSARY ELYSEE TREATY

USPA NEWS - "On January 22, 1963, 60 years ago, the Germany of Konrad Adenauer and the France of General de Gaulle sealed their reconciliation. On that day, our two countries decided to open wide the doors of a new future. for Germany, for France, for Europe." declared the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles between France and Germany. The French President even published this statement on his personal Facebook account, together with its translation into German. « Am 22. Januar 1963, vor 60 Jahren, besiegelten Deutschland unter Konrad Adenauer und Frankreich unter Charles de Gaulle ihre Aussöhnung. An diesem Tag beschlossen unsere beiden Länder einer neuen Zukunft für Deutschland, Frankreich und Europa Tür und Tor zu öffnen. »
On the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, the President of the Republic Macron invited his German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the Elysee Palace to celebrate this 60th anniversary. Many French and German ministers, as well as Barbel Bas, the President of the Bundestag and her French counterpart Yael Braun-Pivet, also took part in this commemoration

"On January 22, 1963, 60 years ago, the Germany of Konrad Adenauer and the France of General de Gaulle sealed their reconciliation. On that day, our two countries decided to open wide the doors of a new future. for Germany, for France, for Europe." declared the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles between France and Germany. The French President even published this statement on his personal Facebook account, together with its translation into German. « Am 22. Januar 1963, vor 60 Jahren, besiegelten Deutschland unter Konrad Adenauer und Frankreich unter Charles de Gaulle ihre Aussöhnung. An diesem Tag beschlossen unsere beiden Länder einer neuen Zukunft für Deutschland, Frankreich und Europa Tür und Tor zu öffnen. » On the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, the President of the Republic Macron invited his German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the Elysee Palace to celebrate this 60th anniversary. Many French and German ministers, as well as Barbel Bas, the President of the Bundestag and her French counterpart Yael Braun-Pivet, also took part in this commemoration, within the framework of the Franco-German Council of Ministers.

USPA, having not been able to cover this event, we are not releasing the event itself, although it was major political gathering in Paris We thus limit ourselves to the publication of an excerpt of the speech as it was delivered by the President of the French Republic. (Source Elysee French Presidency).

SPEECH AS IT WAS DELIVERED BY FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON ON 21 JANUARY 2023
« Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, I am very happy, very happy to see you again to celebrate, as you have just done, all three of you, the Franco-German friendship between us, and with you, representatives of our parliaments, our governments, our civil societies and our youth.Our two countries, twins in history and destiny, have mirrored each other for so many years, in the very forging of their identity. They have alternated for so many centuries between emulation, fascination, competition. United under the same Frankish crown, until history separated them – for there was, a thousand years before the trenches of Verdun, the Treaty of Verdun. Rivals or allies, enemies to the point of unreason, during the era when we counted this common time to the rhythm of wars, before, between and after. So much so that to speak of Germany, for a Frenchman, is always to speak of a part of oneself.

However, in order to accept this respective part of otherness so close, of identity so confusing, it took the founding act that we commemorate today. On January 22, 1963, Konrad ADENAUER's Germany and General DE GAULLE's France made an immense gesture of courage.

On that day, our two countries, which had been the bitterest enemies, decided to become the closest allies. They closed almost a hundred years of modern warfare and universal tragedy that we are still reminded of today by the endless rows of crosses in our military cemeteries.

That day, by sealing their reconciliation, our two countries decided to open "wide the doors of a new future for Germany, for France, for Europe and consequently for the world", according to the words of General DE GAULLE. Sixty years after its signature, the Élysée Treaty remains the bedrock of this unalterable, exemplary link between our two countries, united for peace, freedom and the defense of our democratic values. United in the common dream of Europe thanks to a thousand fibers woven from one bank to the other of the Rhine through these thousand-year-old roads.

Yes, we are all today the children of this courage, summoned beyond hardship, by a generation on which war had left its mark several times, which refused to bequeath the fatality of combat and sorrow to next and who for that, based his hope on the youth. And we owe it to these founders to constantly teach the next generation the path taken, to explain and further enrich this victory of friendship, so perfect today that its painful roots could be forgotten.

This is why this friendship must never cease to be what it is. To divert a formula that was once used for France alone, but that I summon here, thinking of Renan, for both of us: this friendship is an “everyday plebiscite”.

The gesture made sixty years ago was a gesture of courage because there was nothing obvious about it. Everything documented in everyone's lives the need not to do or to do the opposite. The stories of those generations of founders told them otherwise, and they did. Our friendship and this daily plebiscite are based on a will, a cooperation, a trust that must irrigate all of our institutions, our societies, our living forces

But this fight can never be, nor will it be that of the tired, the regulars and those who only look at the past, never. This is also why, four years ago, in Aachen, we signed a new friendship treaty. Acting on the historic success of our reconciliation made possible by the Elysée Treaty, we have decided to deepen our integration and our convergences in all areas. At the service of the European Union, of peace, of our environmental and digital transitions, for the youth of our two countries. For our fellow citizens who live and work on both sides of our borders And with you, ladies and gentlemen, thanks to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly set up in parallel with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

I would like, beyond these initiatives that you are bringing to life, to salute the first promotion here present of the "Generation Europe" program carried out by the Franco-German Office for Youth, a concrete illustration of this ambition, at the heart of our Treaties of the Élysée Palace and Aix-la-Chapelle, of mutual understanding between our peoples and of the ambitions that you will have today and tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen and Mr Chancellor has just said it perfectly, dear Olaf, this 60th anniversary has a special significance, at a time when Ukraine is resisting Russian aggression, when the ideal of peace and dialogue has been flouted, where the very hope of a humanist order in Europe is threatened and where the disruptions of the world are shaking up so many certainties in our countries. ».../ Source: Elysee French Presidency.