State dinner at the Élysée for King Philippe visiting France: the sovereign “pleads for a burst of responsibility”
The royal couple is received Monday evening for a state dinner in the banquet hall of the Élysée Palace, the highlight of the first day of their state visit to the French neighbor. 180 people are invited.
Published on 10/14/2024 at 9:00 p.m.
In his speech, delivered after that of Emmanuel Macron, King Philippe was keen to underline the importance of the “very special” links which unite France and Belgium, “all the more precious in these times when the world seems to be fragment further.”
Belgians and French are “linked by a deep and sincere friendship” and “have always found a common path, paved with shared projects”, notes the sovereign. In this regard, he quotes General de Gaulle, who received King Baudouin within the walls of the same Élysée Palace in 1961: “Since the visit of Albert the First, there has been no dispute between Belgium and France only reasons to esteem each other, to ally and love each other. »
“However, nothing should be taken for granted,” he warns: the conflict in Ukraine, environmental challenges, pandemics, highlight the value of collaboration between countries on all these levels. Solutions to global challenges “require ever closer European collaboration”.
“If we want our nations to shine more, it is urgent to build together this strategic, energy and industrial autonomy, this European sovereignty which you already defended in 2017, and which today we wish to see fully embodied”, supports he.
“In this world plagued by uncertainty, I would like to plead for a burst of responsibility on the part of all of us,” he concludes. “’Fatality is no one, responsibility is someone,’ wrote Paul Ricoeur. (…) It is time, more than ever, to take charge of our common destiny and to fully assume our role in the reorganization of the world. »
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