Bastille Day in Pakistan – PM & President Extend Felicitations – Ambassador for Strengthening Close Cooperation in All Sectors

Tazeen Akhtar + Rubab Tabassum

The World is facing multidimensional challenges that are stalling the peace, development and equality among the nations. Unjustified division of finances, Climate Change and Illegal Occupations and Invasions of the powerful against the neighbors are major issues before the world to be solved for the sake of mankind. France is contributing to the solutions to all above mentioned problems and same was shared by the Ambassador of France to Pakistan on the Bastille Day celebration on 14th July 2023 that was celebrated at his residence.

Ambassador Nicolas Galey has said France was celebrating the historic storming of Bastille that took place on July 14, some 234 years ago (1789) and since then the day is celebrated as an occasion to emphasize universal values of freedom, human rights and respect for humanity.

Mr. & Mrs Nicolas Galey, Ambassador of France hosted a grand evening that was attended by notables from all spheres of life including the government and military officials, parliamentarians, business community, diplomats and media persons,members of civil society, educationists, HR activists in big number.

Federal Minister Climate Change Ms Sherry Rehman was Chief Guest while the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan extended warm felicitations to President Macron, French Government and people on their auspicious day. They reaffirmed their commitment to the strong and robust relationship between the two countries.

Prominent among the guests were Dean of Diplomatic Corp, Ambassador Turkmenistan, H.E Atadjan Movlamov, Minister Religious Affairs, Senator Talha Mehmood, CEO Serena Hotel Islamabad Mr. Aziz Bolani, MNA Naz Baloch.

Ms Camelia Galey, spouse of the Ambassador was appreciated by the guests for leaving no stone unturned to make the celebration memorable. Here it is worth mentioning that the celebration took place for first time in last 2 decades at the residence.

Ambassador in his welcome note, shed light on bilateral cooperation, mutual efforts to cop with climate change challenges and Ukraine -Russia in detail. Ambassador of Ukraine, H.E Markiian Chuchuk was also present.

H.E Nicolas Galey strongly condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine. He expressed solidarity with Ukraine in her efforts to maintain the territorial integrity and sovereignty. He said that although the spirit of Bastille is intact yet still we see a big challenge facing the world from the Russian aggression against Ukraine, he said adding time has come that we should give a call of solidarity and stand by Ukraine.

On bilateral relations with Pakistan, The Ambassador said, “France has strong, deep-rooted relations with Pakistan spanning over decades and in almost all spheres ranging from economy to education, health to industry and energy to defence.”

Ambassador recalled President Macron and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent meetings in UN and Paris. ” In September 2022 at the UN General Assembly in New York, the French President wished to show France’s full solidarity with Pakistan after the tragic floods during the summer, and last month in Paris at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, our two leaders spoke in support of a fairer and more efficient financial system capable of benefiting both to development and the protection of our planet, he said. France welcomes the recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enable Pakistan to meet its economic challenges” H.E Galey continued.

H.E Galey mentioned France’ support in getting GSP+ status for Pakistan of which the country is the largest beneficiary. The French Ambassador also shared information about the recent cooperation between the French and the Pakistani universities.The number of Pakistani students going to the French universities has significantly increased thanks to this partnership.

Minister Sherry Rehman congratulated the ambassador on the national day. She mentioned that Pakistan values relations with France. She said that world was moving towards a complex situation with Europe facing the Ukraine crisis. Besides challenges like pandemic, global warming, climate change adaptation and mitigation are posing serious threats to the food security and infrastructure of especially the third world nations.

The minister appreciated the role of President Macron as a strong voice to support the cause of the countries adversely-devastated by natural disasters and Pakistan being one such victim is thankful to him for that.

The participants enjoyed the evening with fresh air soon after the rain made the weather pleasant. The lush green lawn of the residence was humming with the smiles and styles of the men and the women dressed smartly. The cookies of different types and tastes were widely admired by the guests. Among them the eggs of Solomon Fish were seen for the first time by majority. It was a great evening.

President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi

President Dr Arif Alvi has extended warmest felicitations on behalf of the people of Pakistan and on his own behalf to the people and government of French Republic on the occasion of the French National Day.

In his letter to the President of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, the President wrote that Pakistan and France enjoyed cordial relations marked by mutual trust, commonality of views and close cooperation in multilateral fora. Referring to the Roadmap for Bilateral Cooperation signed in February this year, the President said it would help strengthen our multifaceted cooperation in areas such as trade, people-to-people contacts, education, climate change and energy transition.

The president added that he was confident that under President Macron’s dynamic leadership, we would take our bilateral relationship to a higher level for the mutual benefit of our two countries. “I avail myself of this opportunity to convey my best wishes for your good health and happiness, and continued progress and prosperity of the people of the French Republic”, the President concluded.

Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif

“I extend my warmest greetings to H.E. President Emmanuel Macron & the French people on their National Day today. The day commemorates the revolutionary struggle of the French people that resulted in the storming of the Bastille and ushred in a new era of liberty, equality & fraternity.”

“As Pakistanis were experiencing the devastating floods last year, President Emmanuel Macron and his government came forward with prompt assistance. Equally praiseworthy was the French advocacy of climate change & support to Pakistan during the Resilient Pakistan Conference in Geneva. Pakistan wishes to further build on its friendly ties with French Republic.”

Bastille Day

Bastille Day on 14 July is an opportunity for French people, wherever they may be in the world, to celebrate the symbols and values of the Republic.

Liberty – Equality – Fraternity

Say to any French person “Liberté, Egalité…”, and they will instantly complete the motto. Give it a try!

Popularized by the French Revolution (1789), the notions of liberty, equality and fraternity in fact date back to the philosophers of the Enlightenment, who from the end of the 17th and throughout the 18th century, brought together and popularized the concepts of freedom and equality. The French Revolution added the notion of fraternity and the merging of the three notions as a triptych.

From 1793, Parisians painted on the front of their houses the inscription “Unity, indivisibility of the Republic: liberty, equality or death”. The final part of the motto, which was too closely associated with the Reign of Terror period, was not maintained.

Forgotten under the First Empire, the revolutionary motto reappeared during the 1848 Revolution which enshrined it in the constitution of the Second Republic.
The Republican motto was finally definitively adopted under the Third Republic and was inscribed on the pediment of public buildings as of 14 July 1880.

Since then, the Liberty-Equality-Fraternity triptych has been enshrined in the Constitution and is part of the national heritage of all French people.

The tricolour flag, a national emblem

The tricolour flag came about during the French Revolution by combining the colour of the king (white) with those of Paris (blue and red). It is said that before it was a flag, the tricolour was a cockade which La Fayette presented to Louis XVI, but the exact background remains unknown.

The tricolour only took on its definitive form in 1794 when the national convention decreed that the flag “will comprise three national colours, in vertical strips, with blue attached to the mast of the ship, white in the middle and red floating in the air ”.

Since 1958, it has been defined in Article 2 of the Constitution of the French Republic, which stipulates that “The national emblem shall be the blue, white and red tricolour flag.”

The military parade, an illustration of the link between the army and the people

Since 1880 (when 14 July was set as the French national holiday) each national holiday has been celebrated with a major military parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
It is organized so that the day can be a celebration which unites all French people and demonstrates the unbreakable link between the French people and their army.

The parade takes place in the presence of the President of the French Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the government, the Presidents of the Senate and National Assembly, foreign ambassadors in France and sometimes foreign Heads of State.

All sit in the VIP stand at the end of the Champs-Élysées, on Place de la Concorde. After a flypast by the Patrouille de France, various army corps march down the famous avenue in turn, saluting the Head of State and representatives from the executive and legislative branches of government.