YEREVAN, October 5. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Armen Sarkissian joined today France’s President Emmanuel Macron, ex-presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, French celebrities and thousands of Parisians to bid farewell to Charles Aznavour in a tribute that reflected the late singer’s status as a national hero of Armenia as well as his roots.
In his speech Pashinyan emphasized the contribution Aznavour made not only to world culture, but also to the strengthening of Armenia.
"We have gathered here today to honor the memory of and pay tribute to the great French singer Charles Aznavour. For eight decades his name lit smiles on the faces of hundreds of millions of people, made hundreds of millions of eyes shine, "said Pashinyan.
Pashinyan recalled that Aznavour’s parents fled from the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, and like hundreds of thousands of Armenians, found refuge in France, where Vaghinak Aznaurian became Charles Aznavour.
‘Charles Aznavour is the man who pitched the flag of Armenia on the roof of the world,” Pashinyan said.
"At this grand farewell ceremony, I cannot fail to express the special respect and gratitude that our people have for France. I want to express the gratitude of the Armenian people to the French state, to all the French who gave asylum to those who escaped from the genocide and created favorable conditions for the development of Armenian talent here," said Pashinyan.
In his speech French President Emmanuel Macron said in France poets never die. Macron will be visiting Armenia October 11, 12 for a Francophonie summit to be hosted by Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.-0-