This year, a unique Europe Day celebration took place in Lourdes, organized by the City of Lourdes and the Blue Star Association. A large group from Częstochowa took part in this great celebration of Europe. There were concerts, meetings with authors, discussion panels and film screenings. See our report from this event.
The main celebrations of Europe Day in Lourdes took place on May 10 and 11 at the Palais de Congres in Lourdes.
On the first day of the ceremony, talks included: about the common history of France and Poland.
The author of the book "Le Bal des Aïeuls" about the French colony in Częstochowa, Thérèse Soudan publicly read fragments of her novel, in which she describes the fate of her family from the north of France, sent to Poland at the end of the 19th century in order to develop the textile industry there.
Ewa Lupa, former head of French-speaking relations at the Częstochowa City Hall, presented the history of the family of Monique and Henri Stalens, born in Częstochowa into a family of French industrialists - the mother and uncle of the famous French actress, Oscar winner, Juliette Binoche.
The gathered audience could also watch Krzysztof Kieślowski's film "Three Colors: Blue", in which the fates of Poles and French mix, and the leading role is played by Juliette Binoche, an actress with family ties to Częstochowa.
On the second day of the celebration, a Round Table "Lourdes-Częstochowa Partnership" was organized. The challenges of linguistic and cultural exchange in contemporary European space were discussed. The discussion was attended by:
- Jean-François Soulet, historian, professor emeritus.
- Jean-Pierre Artiganave, former Mayor of Lourdes, heavily involved in the partnership between Częstochowa and Lourdes
- Paweł Klimek, French teacher, strongly associated with the Częstochowa Local Government
- Ewa Lupa, President of Blue Star in Częstochowa
- Suzanne Lacroix, President of the Blue Star of Lourdes
- two young high school students, participants of the trinational OFAJ 2024 project between Lourdes, Altotting and Częstochowa.
In the evening, a unique concert "Voice of Europe" took place, in which an artist from Częstochowa, Justyna Królak, sang in French and Polish. The audience also had the opportunity to admire Daunas de Cor, a choir performing figures of Pyrenean polyphony.
The event also allowed for a meeting of friends - representatives of Częstochowa and Lourdes from the Blue Star Association, which has been operating in both cities since the beginning of cooperation between Częstochowa and Lourdes. The association organizes and co-organizes many joint international events, including cultural events, youth exchanges, and charity collections.
