Brussels, 30/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 29 May, at the commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of Verdun, a symbol of the atrocities committed during the First World War between 1914 and 1918, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande stressed the particular responsibilities of their two countries towards the European project.
“France and Germany have a conception of Europe which goes beyond protecting its borders (…). Both of our countries are deeply committed to a project which holds onto hope and gives meaning to progress”, Hollande said at the ceremony at the Ossuary of Douaumont, which was attended by Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. He added: “Europe is a culture, a way of living, a social model. It is much more than its institutions, it is its projects, in what it allows us to do together that, individually, each country would be too small to achieve. Europe means shared experiences, exchanges and knowledge which expand our national talents, but it is also a need for citizenship, participation and democracy and this is what the people most seem to be missing, to the point of their being led to believe that the European Union is hampering their sovereignty and their choices”.
The French President went on to list the “particular responsibilities” that the two countries, learning lessons from all the blood spilled, must accept: “achieving European ambitions to ensure greater protection and security for our people”, “fully ensuring the defence of our continent in the framework of our alliances and giving Europe the resources to act throughout the world for solidarity and development”, “putting an end to conflicts on our doorstep”, such as the one in Ukraine, “fighting terrorism, fanaticism and radicalisation in full respect of the law and freedoms”, “welcoming populations fleeing terror and massacre and seeking sanctuary where they believe they will be welcomed with dignity”.
Merkel added that the 300,000 dead of Verdun were victims of bigotry and nationalism, blindness and political failure. The best way to commemorate them is “not to seal ourselves off, but be open to each other”, she said, firmly believing that the “common challenges of the 21st century can only be dealt with together”.
Between February and December 1916, the Battle of Verdun cost the lives of more than 300,000 French and German soldiers. The town in north-eastern France has become a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation, most notably in 1984 when, at a similar ceremony, the French President at the time, François Mitterrand, took the hand of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)