Today, April 24, which has been celebrated in France since 2019 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day of 1915, French President Emanuel Macron paid tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide at the statue of Komitas in Paris.
“The event was attended by the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to France Hasmik Tolmajyan, the Co-Chairs of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France Ara Toranyan and Murad Papazyan,” the RA Embassy in France reports.
The full text of Macron’s message is below:
“On the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, all my thoughts are with Armenia, which has suffered the hardships of history.
In my mind, I am with the Armenian people, those who escaped the genocide, and the refugees once hosted by France, and their descendants who contributed to our country. We shall never forget.
As I had pledged, in 2019 April 24 was officially recognized as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in France. Everywhere in France, despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic, that day included in our national calendar will be commemorated. This April 24, more than any other day, our two peoples are united around the same remembrance.
It’s our duty to prevent forgetfulness, denial, lies by accepting the truth, paying homage to the dead, respecting the memory of the living. Committed to being with you throughout history, we are committed to the future now as well, when your country went through a deadly conflict that befell the region where too much blood was shed. It is necessary to create a new page of peace, prosperity and reconciliation. The struggle for justice and truth, which France fought together with you and will continue, will not stop as this is not only the struggle of the Armenians. This is the basis of the fraternity principle of the French Republic.
On this day of sadness, but also of hope, when together we remember the terrible sufferings of the martyred people, France and Armenia are united by friendship and brotherhood.”
