Macron, Sarkozy, Hollande pay homage to Patrick Devedjian's memoryMarch 30, 2020 - 13:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Emmanuel Macron, ex-Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande have paid tribute to the memory of French-Armenian politician Patrick Devedjian who died from Covid-19 on Sunday, March 29 morning. A close adviser of Sarkozy and former president of the Parisian administrative district Haut-de-Seine, Devedjian was the minister in charge of dealing with French recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. The 75-year-old first publicly announced he was suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. President Macron hailed the former minister as "a free spirit" and a committed politician who put his culture, his immense knowledge of the law and his passion for freedom at the service of the country The statement from the Elysée said Devedjian "never forgot his origins, had Armenia at heart, deeply loved France, its culture, its imagination". Former President Sarkozy hailed the late politician as "a passionate, sincere, committed man". “I am proud to have had him by my side. I want to express my infinite sadness," Sarkozy said in a tweet. Hollande said Devedjian had courageously overcome many hardships: "I salute his memory and that of all the victims of this scourge." Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, too, tweeted her "great sadness." "I extend my condolences to his wife and family. I think of our Armenian friends who have lost a brother today." Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |