On 22 October, delegation headed by the President of French Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes province Mr. Laurent Wauquiez visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. Mr. Laurent Wauquiez was accompanied by Jonathan Lacote, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Armenia, Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, and representatives of the Armenian community of France.

AGMI Director Harutyun Marutyan welcomed the guests and presented the history and symbolism of the Genocide Moemorial. The French delegation put two wreaths, one at the Armenian Genocide Memorial and the other at the cross-stone commemorating the innocent victims of the tragic events in Baku.

Members of the delegation put flowers at the eternal fire and honored the memory of the innocent martyrs with a minute of silence. One of the members performed the famous song "Dle Yaman", with live accompaniment of duduk.

The presentable delegation also visited the Memory Alley, where Mr. Laurent Wauquiez planted a fir.

They also visited the Genocide Museum, where they got acquainted with museum exhibitions, and detailed information on the history of Armenian Genocide.

At the end of the visit Mr. Laurent Wauquiez left a note in the Memory Book of honorable guests:

“In tribute to the suffering of the Armenian people, exposed to the terrible Ottoman violence, bruised in his pulpit. May these dead keep our eyes open and tears away from laughter. Armenia obliges us, may we protect it. ”

In his speech the President of French Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes province highlighted the role and mission of both the Armenian Genocide Memorial and the Museum in preventing such crimes. He called on the international community to maintain soberness not to let the repetition of the history.

He also mentioned that this visit is very important and very exciting for him. Preliminary agreements on cooperation between the AGMI and the French side were also reached.

AGMI Director Harutyun Marutyan handed over to the guests several books published by the AGMI and others. Mr. Marutyan presented the memoir “From Dardanellus to Palestine” by Sargis Torosyan, an Ottoman Empire soldier, which is a unique written monument and a living testimony on the history of the Armenian Genocide. Mr. Wauquiez was also gifted the album “Yeghern” (genocide) by a French-Armenian artist Jansem, and “Armenian Genocide: Front-page Coverage in the World Press” by Hayk Demoyan, and Catalogs of cartographic documents about Armenia in different periods.

The President of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes province Mr. Laurent Wauquiez handed over to the Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute a commemorative medal given to senior officials of his region.

Raffi Krikorian, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF-Center), handed over to Mr. Marutyan a souvenir with an image of the monument placed in 24 April 2019 in Antonine Ponce Square in downtown Lyon dedicated to the Armenian Genocide and crimes against humanity.