Chers amis, bonjour !
What an honor to stand before you this morning. What a unique
experience !
Thank you for President David Rowe and Dr Dana Kress, also Honorary
Consul of France in Shreveport, for your kind invitation ! Greetings to
the students – especially the Class of 2014! -, faculty members, parents,
trustees and the State Representative who are with us today.
It is an immense privilege to share this Founder’s Day Convocation with
you, together with my colleagues present with me, Philippe Aldon and
Jessica Fertinel.
It is indeed a privilege since your College has a long history linked to the
history of Louisiana, with a heritage even dating back to the 1811 College
of Orléans, later called College of Louisiana.
You are indeed a most legitimate part of that deep-rooted cultural
History between Louisiana and France.
But there is much more than that. You have developed over the years
student exchanges with France. I use the opportunity to greet my
compatriots from Lille who are with us today! Bonjour!
I want especially also to congratulate your College for its pioneering role
in the State for the program called Escadrille Louisiane, worked out
together with CODOFIL, its President Dr William Arceneaux, a program
which helps develop student exchange programs with the University of
Rennes for the training of teachers of French from Louisiana, thus
bringing a major step forward the cause defended by CODOFIL since
1968, and promoting ownership of the francophone and bilingual future
of this State; indeed, French is definitely not a foreign language in
Louisiana, and I can see and hear it throughout the State when I am
visiting the schools, especially the immersion schools, and meeting the
students, their parents and the teachers
But also the historical moment I am proud to be part of today is the
newest Project called “Centenary in Paris” !
If 200 Freshmen from Centenary will soon go to Paris, I definitely as
Consul of France needed to go to Shreveport! That is the least I could do!
We welcome this initiative and will definitely support you.
It is always a great pleasure for me to come to Shreveport. So much is
going on here. I will tell you, the people down south sometimes tend not
to believe me, “Why are you going to Shreveport ?” - but I tell them: “You
will see, you’ll be surprised!” Louisiana State as a whole has a genuine
intercultural DNA, a special feeling for what it means to be a part of this
global world. That’s not just for one city or region in Louisiana.
And in today’s modern world, with the digital age, wherever you live on
this planet, the geography and the physical distances are not an issue.
And so it happens that your College has developed very early on its
tradition of openness to foreign cultures and the values of the
intercultural dialogue and experience, thanks to your leaders, and I
would like to congratulate especially President Rowe in that respect.
And then one day, you make this major step, another one: Centenary in
Paris! All first year students starting their college studies with immersive
study in Paris, France.
At the Consulate of France in New Orleans, we are greatly honored to be
part of this project, and we will support you in any way we can to make
this experience a most valuable one, an experience that the students
won’t forget in their lifetime.
I hope they may be tempted to come back later, enjoy our country and its
culture, maybe even pursue their studies at one of our universities, doing
business, innovation or research, learn French or just enjoy life !
I have really only one main message I would like to pass on to the
students who visit our country: open your eyes, your ears, and discover
Paris. As one modern artist had said once, “Expect the Unexpected”,that
‘s the motto, to be taken positively of course; you will be surprised to see
that some clichés are right, but the reality is, there is so much more to
discover !
And also one important fact: French people have improved their
knowledge of English! So if they listen to you and switch to English, do
not be upset: its not that your French is bad, its just that they are proud
to test their English !
Another important point: we love Americans, especially in Paris!
(because we know that you are among the best lovers of our capital!)
So if you say that you are from Louisiana, you get two times more
questions and expressions of friendship!
We just had a week ago an historical moment also in our bilateral
Franco-American relationship. We had the State Visit of the President of
the French Republic, François Hollande, in Washington. The last State
Visit of a French Head of State was in 1996.
The old friendship between our nations was celebrated. Both Presidents
visited Monticello and the house of Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador of
the US in Paris, a great friend of France and one of the most remarkable
Founding fathers of the United States.
Since these times, the time of Lafayette, French officer who fought for the
American Independence, our two nations share an old friendship but
also a common endeavor to support common values, indeed universal
values. Our two nations owe to each other their very existence. That
creates a special relationship. When I am bestowing the Legion of Honor
to US veterans who fought in WWII for the liberation of France, it is
always for me the most intense and moving experience as a
representative of my country. It speaks to the heart and to the highest
sense for the honor of the combatants and their humanity.
It should come to no surprise that it was a great American Lady and a
great Frenchmen, Eleanor Roosevelt and René Cassin, who together
wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of
WWII.
We will celebrate again this friendship and our continued fight for these
values of liberty and human dignity next June in Normandy for the 70th
Anniversary of D-Day. President Obama has accepted the invitation. As
you can see, your visit in August will come at a very special moment in
our bilateral relationship.
Since I understand that one of your subjects of study for Centenary in
Paris is the French writer, poet and senator Victor Hugo, the famous
writer of the novel Les Misérables, I would warmly support your choice,
since he really symbolizes this commitment to uphold these common
values we share.
Victor Hugo did not visit your country, but he dreamed of “United
States of Europe”, which would be built on precisely these core values, in
the American experience and in the values of the democracy in France
and Europe.
Hundred fifty years later, this dream is definitely coming nearer than
ever and France and the United States are key partners to help foster the
transatlantic partnership.
Victor Hugo is also one of the old French writers which is the most
contemporary and most read around the globe. Let me therefore remind
the great future of the Francophonie in the world. 250 million speakers
spread over the five continents. Each time I speak to the young people, I
would like to retain also an impressive figure: in less than 40 years from
now, 1 billion people in the world will speak French, thanks in particular
to the African continent.
That’s another reason to invest in French.
That’s a reason also for Louisiana to pursue its investment in the
Francophonie.
Centenary College plays therefore a pioneering role in this project and
we are proud and honored to be your partners.
My warmest thanks again to all of you, Vive les Etats-Unis d’Amérique !
Vive la France ! Vive la Louisiane ! et vive le Centenary College of
Louisiana !