At the celebration of the French national holiday, July 14, the European anthem will be heard in addition to the Marseillaise and the German national anthem.
Ambassador Anne-Marie Descotes invited significantly fewer guests than usual to the embassy reception because of the pandemic. After all, she still received more than 500 confirmations from compatriots and Francophile Germans who wanted to drop by during the evening.
This time there are specialties from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, in memory of the 60-year-old regional partnership between France and Germany with Rhineland-Palatinate. Solidarity with the victims of the flood disaster almost exactly a year ago also played a role in the selection.
The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region was only created in 2016 when Bourgogne and Franche-Comté merged. The merger with Dijon as the capital was certainly suitable for increasing culinary fame.
The invitation features a picture of Dijon, the “Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin”. More than 200 million bottles of Bourgogne wine are drunk around the world each year, pairing perfectly with cheese, Franche-Comté’s flagship product.
The Vice President of the region, Patrick Molinez, not only has a word of welcome, but also the famous delicacies with him. Traditionally, the respective partner region is allowed to whet the appetite of the guests of the embassy on the national holiday. Heike Raab, Rhineland-Palatinate’s representative for Europe, also wanted to mingle with the guests.
As far as savoir vivre is concerned, the Germans have caught up significantly in the last 60 years, also with strong support from the French and their indulgent way of life. The fact that on this occasion and in the presence of such knowledgeable experts many a plan for a holiday in the regions frequented by tourists is forged is probably not undesirable and is certainly beneficial to the good Franco-German relations.
