The Diplomat
The French ambassador to Spain, Jean-Michel Casa, took advantage of the commemoration of Armistice Day to call for “a true European Defense”.
“The memory of past confrontations must mobilize our consciences, orient our choices and guide our decisions,” the ambassador declared during the commemoration of the 104th anniversary of the Armistice of November 11, 1918, which marked the end of the fighting in Europe of World War I. “The memory of the horrors of past confrontations must mobilize our consciences, orient our choices and guide our decisions,” he said. “The memory of the horrors of the 20th century has to be a warning to future generations,” Jean-Michel Casa continued. The event was held at the headquarters of the Consulate General of France in Madrid, the French Embassy said yesterday in a press release.
For that reason, Casa called for “continuing to care for and give life to the bonds that unite us as peoples of the same continent, of the same world, facing challenges that, today, are undeniably global.” “This aspiration can only be achieved with a united, strong and sovereign Europe, because if we want to have a voice in the future world, we have to act on a European scale, and in particular through a true European Defense,” he warned. “Let us build Europe and the world of the future together so that we can provide an effective response to the challenges and threats that await us. It is our duty and it is what all of us French, Spanish, Europeans aspire to,” he concluded.
The ambassador also praised the work carried out daily by the associations of war veterans and mutual aid, as well as “Spain’s great European commitment”, addressing the Spanish authorities attending the ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by the Ambassador and was attended by Senator Hélène Conway-Mouret, Nathalie Coggia, deputy for Stéphane Vojetta, deputy for the French living outside France; Colonel Ronan de Cadoudal, Defense Attaché; the Consul General of France in Madrid, Marie-Christine Lang; and consular counselors.
The event was organized by the Defense Mission of the French Embassy in Spain and the Consulate General of France in Madrid, with the support of the French Union of War Veterans living in Spain and the Madrid Committee of Souvenir Français. The event brought together a large French community and provided an opportunity to decorate ten Spanish military personnel, as a symbol of “the importance of our bilateral cooperation in the service of Peace, and of the great trust that unites us”, according to Casa.
