Franco-German Day
The Franco-German Day (DFT) was created in 2003 as part of the 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty . The event, which takes place on January 22nd every year, is intended to commemorate the Franco-German friendship and, above all, to address bilateral relations in educational institutions in both countries and to introduce young people to the respective neighboring country.
History and organization
The French President Jacques Chirac and the Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder initiated the so-called "Franco-German Day" on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Franco-German friendship treaty in 1963. Article 16 of the joint declaration of the two governments of January 22, 2003 states:
“We are declaring January 22nd as 'Franco-German Day'. We wish that this day will be devoted to the presentation of our bilateral relations, the promotion of the partner language and the information about the exchange and meeting programs as well as about the possibilities of studying and employment in the partner country in all institutions of our education systems. "
Since then, the day has had a different motto almost every year. For example, the motto in 2004 was “Promotion of the partner language”, 2007/2008 “Rediscover France - l'Allemagne, un pays à redécouvrir” and in 2016 “French and Germans: once friends, always friends / Allemands et Français: partenaires un jour, partenaires toujours ”.
It is the foreign ministries in both countries, the ministries of education in Germany and France and the French ministry of education that make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Franco-German day. But at least as important is the commitment of schools and cultural institutions as well as private initiatives that contribute to the events of this day (or sometimes this week) with their projects.
On January 22, 2019, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron signed the Treaty of Aachen .
Web links
- The Franco-German Day on the Franco-German Internet portal
Individual evidence
- ^ Wichard Woyke: German-French relations since reunification . The tandem is back on its feet. 2nd Edition. Springer Verlag , Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 978-3-322-81021-2 , p. 316 ( Table of Contents [accessed January 22, 2018]).