Yesterday, after a 20 minute-long delay and a little revolt of the Romanians photo-reporters, the reunion of the francophone leaders started.
The long-expected "sommet" was initiated yesterday in Bucharest after a "diplomatic" delay of only 20 minutes. Delegations from more than 60 states have arrived in the Romanian capital to take part in the 11th Francophone Summit, the main theme of which is "the Information Technology in Education". The first day had two main parts, an official one and an unofficial one, like the Parliamentâs Palace hosted two separate events. On one hand, in the imposing "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" Room, the officials on five continents were happy to take part in the 11th Francophone Summit, while two floors below, in the press room (the press floor more precisely), the chaos started.
APPLAUSES FOR THE INTEGRATION. President Traian Basescu opened the Summit sessions. He welcomed his guests in French and said it was a great honor for his country to be the first in Europe to host this conference after France. PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu wanted to tell a little secret to the guests: "You are in a country that loves French", and he continued with a little history of the French-Romanian good collaborations. His conclusion: "Bon Sommet!".
The French President, Jacques Chirac, the "spiritual guardian" of the conference, insisted on the diversity of the Francophone movement, which covers 63 states, from the Ivory Coast to Vietnam, Canada and Togo. The European Commission leader, Jose Manuel Barroso, the Canadian PM, Stephen Harper, or the Burkina-Faso President wanted to thank the Romanian hosts for their hospitality. The Laos representative (who had been involved in a minor car accident a day before) congratulated Romania and Bulgaria for their adherence to the European Union in January 2007, which started a lot of applauses.
"REVOL
