22 January, Franco-German Day

Since 2004, 22 January, the date when the Elysée Treaty was signed in 1963, has been known as ‘Franco-German Day’. On or around that day, schools, colleges and secondary schools in France and Germany organise debates, Franco-German encounters and days of discovery. The FGYO, Instituts français and Goethe-Instituts, together with associations of instructors of German and French, all regularly get involved in organising these days, which can take a very wide variety of forms. Their aim is to promote pupils’ and students’ awareness of the possibilities of taking advantage of the vast network of Franco-German relations for linguistic, cultural or leisure stays, and of continuing their studies or even working in the guest country some day. The objective is to inspire young people from the neighbouring countries to meet one another and perhaps even learn one another’s language. Families are often invited to attend, or even involved in organising, these days. Sometimes, the topics addressed are suggested in schools, which are free to organise the way these days are carried out and often benefit from local partnerships (visits to businesses, etc.).

With this in mind, in 2023, marking the 60th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, and against the backdrop of the war waged by Russia in Ukraine, students reflected on the topic of ‘France and Germany: United for Peace’. The French Minister of Education along with his/her alter ego, the plenipotentiary for cultural relations with France, frequently take the opportunity to review instruction in the neighbouring country’s language, and language instructors in both countries, in an effort to present students with opportunities for language stays and courses of study in the respective partner country.

It is interesting to reflect back on the original creation of this day more than 20 years ago. Ordinarily, it is not customary to celebrate a 40th anniversary with pomp and ceremony. But in the wake of a period of pronounced tension at the outset of the millennium with regard to the respective weight of France and Germany in a new Europe in the course of expansion, Paris and Berlin orchestrated their ‘reconciliation’ with great fanfare. This reconciliation had been boosted by the two countries’ shared refusal to intervene militarily in Iraq alongside the United States.

To better underscore the spirit of understanding following the wounds of the past, the ceremony was organised as a symbolic event and held on 22 January 2003 at the Palace of Versailles – a location of double traumatisation for the French and the Germans (respectively, as the site of the proclamation of the German Reich in 1871 and of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors). While both entire governments and their deputies, as representatives of the people, had been invited to Versailles, the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO) had been tasked with organising a ‘Franco-German Youth Parliament’ in Berlin. These young parliamentarians issued a series of proposals, two of which were immediately taken up by President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and soon implemented: the first to draft a joint Franco-German textbook on the history of Europe and the world, from the origins through the beginning of the 21st century. Histoire/Geschichte was planned and written by a Franco-German team; the three-volume work was published in both languages in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Although this manual is often commended for its historiographical quality and educational choices, unfortunately it is rarely used in high schools outside the Abibac and European classes. The second proposal – to declare 22 January Franco-German Day – was implemented the following year.

The declaration of Franco-German Day seeks to involve all societies, and young people in particular, in the great narrative of reconciliation, and to include them in bilateral exchange and friendship. Hence this is also about raising young citizens’ awareness of their responsibilities with regard to the future of this relationship. Franco-German Day has truly become an institution in school systems on both sides of the Rhine, but it permeates society in a much broader sense as well. These initiatives on the part of the larger society are innumerable and diverse, as can be seen in requests for project financing submitted to the Franco-German Citizens’ Fund [Deutsch-Französischer Bürgerfonds / Fonds citoyen franco-allemand] by a variety of organisations, town-twinning committees and dedicated individuals. These stakeholders reflect not only the density and vibrancy of the Franco-German fabric but also, on occasion, certain concerns that citizens in both countries have around the international situation and the future of Franco-German relations and Europe.