More than 300 people celebrated Catalonia’s National Day in Paris

Paris (ACN).- The Catalan Government’s Paris delegation celebrated the Catalan National Day, the 11^th of September in an official reception this Tuesday. The celebration had over 300 people in attendance, including ambassadors, politicians and members of the French society as well as Catalans living in Paris. As Delegate of the Catalan Government to France, Apel·les Carod-Rovira explained, this year’s event was marked by an “institutional crisis” caused by the Spanish Constitutional Court’s sentence on the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. Considering the fact that French businesses are already very present in Catalan territories, the reception’s goal was to strengthen ties with French social agents and attract foreign investment for Catalonia.

The ambassadors from Spain and Andorra, Francisco Villar and Julià Vila attended the celebration as well as ambassadors from Morocco, Hungary, Oman, Mauritius, Senegal, Namibia, Honduras, Bolivia, Benin and Ivory Coast. Also in attendance were representatives from the Paris delegations of Quebec, Flanders and Wallonia and representatives from international institutions such as UNESCO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCDE). The regional vice-presidents of Aquitaine, Île-de-France and Rhône-Alpes were also present.

In his speech, Apel·les Carod-Rovira said that Catalonia is a land that is “open to the world”, a territory that strives for innovation and works toward internationalisation. For this reason, Catalan delegations abroad are an essential tool in internationalisation, “offering new opportunities for Catalans”.

Apel·les Carod-Rovira closed his speech with a reference to the Spanish Constitutional Court’s recent trimming of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. “Catalonia is very aware of the fact that this institutional crisis is brought on by the lack of respect for the Catalan people,” he said.