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| vendredi, 10 septembre 2010 |
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Address by Dominique De Villepin |
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Address by Dominique De Villepin, the French minister of foreign affairs, at the official inauguration of the City of Marseille’s International Council on December 2, 2002:
Mayor, dear Jean-Claude,
Dear Renaud,
Deputy Mayor, head of international relations,
Consuls,
Presidents,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I already said so this morning in front of the students from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, I am delighted to be here with you in Marseille at a time when your city is putting new life into its international presence! It gives me great pleasure to see the inauguration of the International Council. Because it represents the fulfilment of a calling never refuted by history. Because it represents an opportunity for your city. Because it represents an opportunity for France and for Europe.
Indeed, Marseille has confirmed its vocation for openness and exchanges for nearly 3 millennia now! As early as the arrival of the first sailors who chose this rocky inlet that was sheltered from the wind so that they could set sail again better equipped for distant shores, Marseille was a prosperous trading post where Greek oil, bronze and terracotta were exchanged peacefully under the Mediterranean sun.
The gateway to Europe for the East, Massalia rapidly became a gateway to the East for the North, in light of its successful relations within Gaul.
A thoroughfare for people from all regions looking for adventure and trade, Marseille was also the crossroads of the main spiritual currents that have marked our history: when the Syrian monk Saint Cassien founded the Abbey of Saint-Victor there, it was as a man from the two shores that he opened the gates of Gaul to Christianity.
And from the Old Port to a thousand exotic aromas, with a thousand colours, where the echoes of a thousand languages still sound, many set sail to answer the call of the high seas, how many came from Pitheas reached the arctic confines in Marius fascinated by the lands of the South? Others still remained by the shores of Lacydon since, as Suarčs wrote, “he who lives in Marseille has no need to leave, he already lives elsewhere”.
Always independent, often rebellious, always hungry for light and liberty, Marseille has never been captive, neither of the hills surrounding it nor of the various Empires. Resilient, spirited and determined, Marseille is able to rise to all challenges.
Today, it is a home port or port of passage, a city that has known how to open its arms to those fleeing persecution or poverty. A city within which Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and atheists can find one another and respect one another. A city that is exuberant and generous, but affective and discreet, uniquely decipherable for those who know how to take the risk and look beyond prejudices and appearances.
Located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, on the ancient route of the Via Appia that linked Spain and Italy, and the Rhone Road that opened up to Northern Europe, Marseille is seeing a revival today.
Thanks to a dynamic and ambitious city council, the city is being transformed and revamped, building and inventing the roads of the future. The creativity of its high-tech business areas and its industrial parks, the cultural effervescence of its various districts, are coming to life even more with the Euro-Mediterranean project, lighting the way for these new changes.
The policy of the council, which is making the development of international relations a priority, marks a new era for a vocation firmly anchored in the fabric of your city. Because this opening up represents a key asset, in a world marked by interdependence, where state borders no longer limit the ambitions and the duties of people. In this way, Marseille is in harmony, both with itself and with the new age of our world, where dialogue, sharing and solidarity form the basis for the future of all.
By synergising all of your city's strengths, the City of Marseille’s International Council will federate a movement whose scale has been growing over the last few years: the Mediterranean Conferences in the Civil Mediterranean Forum or the fourth Ministerial Conference for the Barcelona Process, your city has shown its ability to welcome the overseas spirit and become a capital of the Mediterranean Region and Southern Europe.
Continue along this path, since it represents an opportunity to increase the remarkable economic capabilities of a city whose Chamber of Commerce is the oldest and one of the most active in the world. The economic, social and cultural consequences of the International Council will be considerable, and Marseille deserves this future through its incomparable audacity, efforts and energy.
France is lucky to have as one of its main cities a town that is taking its destiny in hand and developing, with the whole of Europe, with the Maghreb countries, the Middle East, Africa, as well as America and China, in-depth dialogue, successful cooperation and renewed solidarity.
Lastly, it represents an opportunity for Europe, which must not turn away from the South at a time when it is expanding to the East, at the risk of losing its soul at the same time it finds its unity. As you know, the balance between the different inspirations of Europe is based on the dynamism of each one of them. Work relentlessly to get your voice heard, since it carries in it the wealth of our Mediterranean heritage and our cultural diversity.
That is why I would like to wish a long and happy life to the International Council and the influence of Marseille around the world. Thank you.
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