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 | Azerbaijan says now controls 4 villages as part of deal with Armenia Azerbaijan's border service has taken control of four villages in the Gazakh district on the border with Armenia. Lukashenko has "very interesting proposal" involving Caucasus Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said he has "a very interesting proposal" involving the Caucasus region. Azerbaijan establishing three military colleges Three military colleges are being established in Azerbaijan, according to a decree signed by the country’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov. Armenian border troops stationed in Tavush Starting from May 24, the Armenian border troops officially take over the protection of sections of the border in the Tavush region. |