It was a meeting which remained secret for a long time, and which could have had consequences for the future of Europe. Celebrations were organized for three days at the abbey of Saint-Colomban, in Luxeuil-les-bains, in Haute-Saône, to celebrate a meeting which took place in 1950, at the initiative of Robert Schuman.
It is a meeting of which there are few traces today, and which undoubtedly contributed to the construction of what Europe is now.
In July 1950, the celebration of the fourteenth centenary of the Irish monk Saint-Colomban was held in Luxeuil-les-Bains, in Haute-Saône, in the abbey in his name. A religious event which serves as a pretext for one of the creators of Europe, Robert Schuman, to organize a meeting between politicians from different countries to discuss a European construction project.
A few months earlier, on May 9, 1950, the then French Minister of Foreign Affairs gave a speech in Paris considered to be the founding of Europe. He proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community. “Robert Schuman was already a man of the frontiers through his personal history, explains Loïc Erman, deputy director of the Maison de Robert Schuman, in Moselle. His father was from Moselle. He had German nationality after the French defeat in 1870. His mother is Luxembourgish. Schuman had German nationality. At the Liberation, he became French..
In Luxeuil, in 1950, are notably present delegations from Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and the United States. Discussions remain secret during and after the meeting. “Schuman understood that this project [le discours du 9 mai] had a range that exceeded it a little. He only informed a small part of his entourage, the German Chancellor the same day,” explains Loïc Erman..
It is in the Hôtel du Chatigny, in the commune, that the conversations take place.
The discussions took place at the Hôtel du Chatigny.
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© Fabienne Lemoing / France TV
What contribution will this meeting in Luxeuil have had in European construction? The European Coal and Steel Community was born in 1952.
The story of this meeting has long remained unknown. In 2009, Marie-Marguerite Dubois, who participated in the organization of the meeting, testified to what happened “for history”, specifies Jean-François Maillot, of the Association of former students and friends of the abbey and the Saint-Colomban school in Luxeuil. In 2019, the newspaper Le monde published an article entitled “What if Europe had been born in a village in Haute-Saône?” where he recounts this meeting.
From June 14 to 16, 2024, festivities were organized by theassociation of former students and friends of the abbey and the Saint-Colomban school. A plaque was placed within the abbey so as not to forget this story.
