Pay tribute to the victims.
Emmanuel Macron went this Saturday noon in front of an Armenian genocide memorial in the center of Paris, to "participate in a moment of meditation" on April 24, which in 2019 became National Day of Commemoration of the Genocide of 1915.
Arrived at Place du Canada, where a monument in memory of the genocide was erected in 2003, he was to meditate alongside the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, the Ambassador of Armenia Hasmik tolmajyan, as well as the co-presidents of the Council. coordinator of the Armenian organizations of France, Ara Toranian and Mourad Papazian.
His gesture comes as soon as Joe Biden is expected to become the first American president to recognize the Armenian genocide, recognized by around thirty countries but vigorously contested by Turkey.
Turkey opposed to recognition of genocide
It is also against a backdrop of tensions between France and Turkey, regularly accused of interference with French Muslims.
The law against Islamist separatism wanted by Emmanuel Macron, who wants in particular to fight against foreign influences on French Muslims, also sparked a violent reaction from the Turkish president against Paris.
In February 2019, the Head of State announced that April 24 would become National Day of Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, which France recognized on January 29, 2001. This is the first time since he has participated in an official commemoration of this day.
The date of April 24, the same as that used in Armenia and in many countries, corresponds to the day of a roundup of Armenian intellectuals assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman power.
It is estimated that between 1.2 million and 1.5 million Armenians were killed during World War I by troops from the Ottoman Empire, then allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
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