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Military French official to participate in the December 1 parade for Romania's National Day
Secretary of State with the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Genevieve Darrieussecq, is paying an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday, after receiving an invitation from the Romanian Ministry of Defence, Mihai Fifor, in which context she is going to participate in the December 1 parade for Romania's National Day.
"This is more than just a great honour, it is also a duty to commemorate two major events, which tightly connect our two countries: the end of the First World War and the creation of modern Romania," said Genevieve Darrieussecq, according to a release of the French Embassy in Bucharest.
The French official had meetings scheduled with the Minister of National Defence, Mihai Fifor, the Minister of Culture, Lucian Romascanu, the Secretary of State with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs George Ciamba, Secretary of State with the Ministry of National Defence Nicolae Nasta and Paul Claudiu Cotirlet - Secretary of State with the Minister of Culture.
During her visit to Bucharest, Genevieve Darrieussecq will lay a wreath of flowers to the Monument dedicated to the memory of the French soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting "on Romanian land during the Great War 1916-1919," inaugurated in 1922, in the presence of Marshall Generals Berthelot and Weygand.
A French delegation made of soldiers from the École Militaire Interarmes (EMIA) military school, who have a mission to train internally recruited officer (former reserve officers, NCOs and other troops) will also be marching on December 1.
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Romania celebrates today its Great Union Day. This public holiday is also referred to as “Ziua Marii Uniri” Unification Day, or 1918 Union Day. The day-long observance commemorates the union of Transylvania and the provinces of Banat, Bessarabias, and Bukovina with Romania, which took place on December 1, 1918. The historic union took effect through a proclamation during an Assembly of the delegates and ethnic Romanians in Alba Lulia.
Great Union Day in Romania is marked with military parade held in Bucharest, the country’s capital and largest city. It features speeches of key officials and personalities in the capital and in Alba Iulia, the place where the declaration was first read out to the public. It is also a day dedicated honoring Romanians who died in the First World War.