Germany and France celebrate 60 years of friendship
The governments of Germany and France are giving away free train tickets to 60,000 young people on a first-come, first-served basis to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their friendship treaty.
This is reported by Euractiv.
About 30,000 Germans and 30,000 French people aged 18 to 27 can get free train tickets to another country on Monday. The tickets can be used for seven days at any time this year and are intended to encourage young people to travel to a neighboring country.
"Current events in Europe show how important mutual exchange is for the continuation of Europe's peaceful and democratic development," said German Transport Minister Volker Wissing, who launched the initiative with his French counterpart Clement Bona.
The Elysée Treaty was signed in January 1963 by former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle and marked the beginning of an era of newly forged friendship between the two countries, which had been enemies in two world wars.
Close relations between Berlin and Paris remain a priority for both sides and have a high symbolic value.
In practice, however, relations between the two governments have been turbulent in recent months due to disagreements in several areas, including energy policy, and consultations between the two governments had to be postponed for several months last year.
More recently, Chancellor Scholz invited French President Macron to a private dinner outside Berlin in an effort to bridge differences and work more closely together.
Author - Olena Madiak, 12/06/2023
