Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the French Republic

President Serzh Sargsyan, who has paid a working visit to the French Republic, on June 5 had a meeting with Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi.

Greeting the president, Mayor Estrosi noted that it is a great honor that Armenia has been announced as Country of Honor at the famous Midem international music festival.

President Serzh Sargsyan expressed his thanks for the warm welcome and stressed that Nice and Armenia’s capital Yerevan are sister cities, while friendly France is a special country to Armenia and the Armenian people. The president noted that people in Armenia are familiar with Mayor Christian Estrosi’s activities and his caring attitude towards Armenians. According to Serzh Sargsyan, the events to commemorate the Armenian Genocide Centennial held in Nice on April 24 this year, empathizing with the Armenian people’s great grief and making others to empathize as well is the testimony to that attitude.

Nice mayor noted that he is sure it is everybody’s duty to acknowledge the tragedy of the Armenian people. He expressed satisfaction with the relationship and level of cooperation between Yerevan and Nice and underscored that Armenia’s president is always a welcomed guest for them. Mayor Christian Estrosi also said that he plans to visit Yerevan by the end of the year to further strengthen friendly ties between Yerevan and Nice and discuss new opportunities for cooperation.

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With the support of the State Commission on Coordination of the Events for the Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the RA Ministry of Culture, and under the sponsorship of Tashir Group, from June 5 to 8, Armenia is participating in the Midem international music industry festival in the status of Country of Honor. The program is featured by ProArt.

Armenia is presenting itself to this prestigious festival through the Concept of Elements of Armenian Music. Pomegranate has been selected and developed as a symbol of Midem 2015. It is portrayed in four different colors and symbolizes the four main Armenian elements of inspiration – soil, air, water and fire.

During the Cannes festival days, Armenia is also fully represented visually. The entire city is decorated with Armenian colors and the squares with flags of Armenia-Country of Honor, the city screens are advertising Armenian events and programs, and the frontal screen of the famous Cannes festival hall is devoted to Armenia.

The main avenue in Cannes, the Promenade de la Croisette, was closed the whole evening especially for the solemn opening ceremony of Armenia’s pavilion, and traffic has been blocked. At the InterContinental Carlton Cannes, the most famous and historically noteworthy hotel in Cannes, there took place the Midem Opening Night featuring The Cats jazz band, the Acoustic Colors Quartet and the Miqayel Voskanyan and Friends ethno-jazz band. Dorians, The Ambassador Ensemble and DJ Beatman took the stage on the Carlton beach till late at night.

A unique exhibition has opened at the Carlton hall displaying two new large-scale paintings by Tigran Dzitoghtsyan and dresses on ancient Armenian themes authored by designer Vahan Khachatryan.

During the evening, Armenian national cuisine and drinks were also presented.

On July 5, the senior-level delegation headed by RA President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the official opening ceremony of the Armenian pavilion at Midem. Apart from attending the concert performances, during the night the president had meetings with heads of the world’s most prestigious music organizations. Florian Drücke is the Managing Director of the Federal Music Industry Association. This association is the third after the U.S. and Japan. The head of this prestigious organization suggested to the RA president that they implement new joint programs and projects based on Komitas’s legacy.

Mathieu Jaton, CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival, expressed his admiration to President Serzh Sargsyan for famous pianist Tigran Hamasyan’s talent and professionalism and offered to open a branch of this prestigious festival in Armenia.

During the meeting with the RA president, Jean-Noël Tronc, Chief Executive Officer of Sacem, the world’s second largest music association, offered to hold, jointly with UNESCO, a copyright conference in Armenia on the occasion of Sacem’s 90th anniversary.

The Midem music festival will continue for three more days featuring concert performances, lectures and exhibitions.

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President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the opening ceremony of the famous Midem 2015 international music festival at the Cannes Festival Palace. The Armenian president toured festival pavilions, visited the pavilion of Armenia, 2015 Country of Honor at the festival, as well as the German and French pavilions. Afterwards, President Serzh Sargsyan left for Armenia’s Park. Together with Cannes Mayor David Lisnard, other officials participating in the ceremony and with representatives of the French-Armenian community, the president paid tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims and of the Armenians that laid down their lives for France. The RA president and the Cannes mayor laid wreaths at the monument to the victims.

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On June 6, President Serzh Sargsyan received French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin in Cannes. RA Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan also participated in the meeting. Issues were discussed related to cultural cooperation between Armenia and France.

President Serzh Sargsyan expressed his satisfaction with the concert of the Armenian World Orchestra which took place in April at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that the temporary orchestra of the world’s best musicians of Armenian descent will continue with concerts aimed at commemorating the Armenian Genocide victims and paying tribute to their memory.

The Armenian side offered to open an exhibition of Armenian surrealist painters in France. It also offered to continue with Armenian-French film co-production, the best examples of which are the films by Robert Guédiguian. The parties agreed to organize a festival which will feature co-produced movies. The Armenian and French culture ministers reported to the RA president on their intention to promote collaboration on the above-mentioned issues.

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On the evening of June 6, President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the Midem Gala Supper in Cannes, where he delivered a speech.

Prior to it, the video clip titled “We are Armenians” had been displayed. The five-minute video clip “We are Armenians” presents about 50 well-known diaspora Armenians who have become world-famous for their achievements.

There took place an award ceremony during the event. On the occasion of Republic Day, the Armenian president awarded Rosy Khurshudi Hovannisian (Rosy Armen) the Order of Honor for making a significant contribution to the preservation of national identity and to the strengthening of cultural ties between the homeland and the diaspora. Film director and actor Robert Guédiguian was also awarded the Order of Honor for contributing to the development of cultural ties between Armenia and France and to the preservation of national identity.

On June 7, Serzh Sargsyan attended the concert of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia in Cannes.