Today's Date:

On 22 and 23 January 2003, we shall be celebrating in Paris and Berlin the fortieth anniversary of the Elysée Treaty. By signing this treaty, Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer set the seal on the reconciliation between France and Germany and opened a new era of unprecedented cooperation between our two countries.

Since the Elysée Treaty was signed, the development of the relationship between France and Germany has been furthered by the dialogue between the two countries' local authorities. Alongside institutions and Franco-German associations, a large number of cities, German Länder and French departments and regions have concluded partnerships, which, in many cases, have been thriving for years, even decades.

This network of contacts has placed cooperation between our two countries at the very heart of society and encouraged an increasingly close dialogue between the citizens on either side of the Rhine. The local partnerships have fostered closer ties in an extremely wide variety of spheres, such as those involving young people, culture and sport, by increasing the opportunities for meetings.

So the Chancellor and I would like warmly to thank all those who, in this sphere, have tirelessly worked to tighten the ties between our two countries. They are the irreplaceable players in Franco-German cooperation.

We would like to invite them all, on 22 and 23 January next year, to celebrate this historic moment for Franco-German relations, and give this anniversary, whose keynote has to be one of friendship, all the zest and splendour it deserves./.