Bastille Day: French National Holiday Marked in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - By intoning the anthems of Bosnia and Herzegovina and France at the residence of the French ambassador to BiH, Guillaume Rousson, the 14th of July, the French national holiday - Bastille Day and the beginning of the French Revolution, was marked this evening.

In his address to guests at the ceremonial reception, the ambassador said that unlike last year, France's interest in the Balkans has materialized, which was confirmed by the Berlin Summit on April 29 dedicated to the Balkans, chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The summit offered the first French strategy for the Western Balkans. Within this framework, France will strengthen its political relations with the region and develop cooperation in four main areas - greater economic development, in the area of security in the fight against smuggling of light weapons and small arms. In the area of justice, we can cite the 'EU4justice' program led by France since the beginning of the year, in the area of defense, let us highlight the return of France to EUFOR in the fall of 2018. The goal of the strategy is to complement and support EU activities in bringing the region closer to Europe. It also complements the Berlin Process, so the French Prime Minister attended the Summit in Poznan," Rousson said.

He emphasized that the roadmap is clear and demanding for BiH, as is evident from the EU Opinion.

"In this sense, the action of BiH in the coming months is of particular importance. In the eyes of the member states, this action will reflect the real level of engagement of domestic authorities at all levels on the path to EU accession. We can only regret that at this crucial moment, the new government of the Federation of BiH and the state has still not been constituted," Rousson said.

The marking of the French national holiday was attended by a large number of guests from political, social, religious, and public life, as well as members of the diplomatic corps in BiH.