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French President Emmanuel Macron addressed on Thursday morning the 17th Francophonie Summit, a gathering of French-speaking countries in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

In his remarks, the French leader expressed gratitude for the reception and congratulated Armenia on a high-level organization of the summit.

“This marks a very symbolic moment for your country. You are aware of the special place your country holds in the hearts of the French people; the word ‘Armenia’ evokes a subtle and a touching emotion in the hearts of French people in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, or elsewhere,” Macron said, addressing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.    

The French leader also addressed late singer Charles Aznavour, ‘a symbol of France and Francophonie for Armenia, a giant of song who was singing about our happiness and misfortunes with a unique sadness typical to people living in wandering.’

He recalled Aznavour’s great efforts to preserve Armeniannes and his invaluable support to the fatherland.   

Macron also highly appreciated the Yerevan summit as a good opportunity to bring together one family whose members ‘live in different continents, believe in different gods, some of them do not believe in God at all, sing differently, and their country’s histories do not stem from the same source.’

“We are united not only through the French language, but also through our vision of the world which is being updated day by day. All hopes, desire for peace and brotherhood, justice – these are the cornerstones of our organization,” Macron stressed.

The French president drew attention to the historic moment of the Yerevan summit that takes places in times when the global situation is ‘paralyzed with lies and hate propaganda’ “All the rules we have been able to unite around in the past decades no longer apply,” he said.

To watch his full address click on the video below.

Armenia is hosting the XVII Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) on 11 and 12 October.  The event has brought together delegations from 84 countries, including leaders of 38 states.

The general theme of La Francophonie summit is “Living together in solidarity, shared humanistic values, and respect for diversity: a source of peace and prosperity in La Francophonie”, while the logotype of the summit is pomegranate as a symbol of peace and prosperity throughout the francophone area.