Bastille Day: Sombre mood on Swiss letter shrouds festive reception

The day marks the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris, a symbol of the power of the monarchy.


Vaqas July 18, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


With corks firing off, the French Embassy hosted a reception on Monday to mark Bastille Day, with a mix of the diplomatic community, political figures, and military officials present.


But the celebrations were marked with a sombre note over the political situation in Pakistan, with private discussions quite focussed on the direction the government is taking vis-à-vis the Swiss letter issue.

Diplomats and politicians from across the aisle were heard debating the outcome of Lettergate 2.0 with most agreeing that the incumbent PM will be the last premier during this election cycle, citing the embarrassment it would cause the country if another prime minister was convicted and removed due to the court-ordered letter writing campaign. Snap elections to circumvent such a move were on many minds, while some debated how the ruling party would bide its time and stretch the issue.

As guests mingled amid the elegant arrangement, Destrez introduced Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud, who stood alongside MQM Parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar and WAPDA Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar. After a short speech honouring the day’s significance and 65 years of friendly Pak-French relations, the ambassador clinked his glass with the Pakistani representatives.

The menu on the day featured various breads and baguettes, delicious hors d’oeuvres and French cheeses — sheep, blue, camembert and brie — along with shrimp salad as the appetisers, and to quote one attendee, Rabia Amir, “the cheese was excellent”. The entrees included chicken roulade, almond-potato balls with tomato quiche, and deep fried brie and apricot dip as a side, followed by French pastries and other dessert items.

Apart from the range of juices and soft drinks, Nicolas Feuillatte champagne and Chateau de Rouillac wine were on offer.

French Press Attache Marine Destrez noted that even though embassy staff were away from home, it was “wonderful to celebrate the day with so many people, friends from Pakistan and the diplomatic community”.

Bastille Day, which falls on July 14, marks the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris, which was the primary holding area for political prisoners locked up by the king, and thus a symbol of the power of the monarchy.

The event was one of the first blows to the monarchy at the start of the revolution and was followed by the recently constituted National Assembly’s issuance of a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen — the basis for the French constitution and many international human rights documents that have come since.

After dinner, Sattar spoke about France’s relationship with Pakistan, telling The Express Tribune that “celebrating a national day with a friendly country whose credentials are proven is an opportunity to foster more avenues of bilateral cooperation. France is an EU country that understands Pakistan’s quest for access to EU markets.” Sattar noted that Pakistanis need relationships based on trade, not aid, opining that such ties also encourage and enable overseas Pakistanis to return and help face the challenges back home.

Gen (retd) Talat Masood found it reassuring that Pak-EU and Pak-France relations are moving in the right direction.

However it was noted columnist and PML-N MNA Ayaz Amir who best summed up the day’s significance. “Bastille Day is relevant not only to France... in any country, whenever barricades are erected, they say they are storming the Bastille. The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, is not related only to France. It is a universal anthem, part of the grand revolutionary tradition and all modern revolutions, whatever France thinks of them now, derive their inspiration from the French revolution.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2012. 

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