Helmut Kohl und François Mitterrand bei einer Pressekonferenz

Honored guestMitterand and Kohl

In honor of the 50th meeting of German-French consultations, President François Mitterrand and Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl met at Bruchsal Palace on November 12, 1987. In addition to having dinner, there were a few matters regarding German-French collaboration to decide in Karlsruhe.

Bruchsal Palace, A look inside the vestibule

A look inside the vestibule of Bruchsal Palace.

Dinner at the palace

At a joint dinner at Bruchsal Palace, the heads of state discussed the past 25 years of German-French friendship. In his speech, Helmut Kohl greeted the guests: "Ladies and gentlemen! I am very happy to welcome you to Bruchsal Palace. We meet tonight for the 50th time because President de Gaulle and President Konrad Adenauer signed the treaty on German-French collaboration nearly 25 years ago."

François Mitterrand

Former president of France: François Mitterrand.

One head of government for Europe

In mid-1981, François Mitterrand was elected president of France. He discovered the increasing importance of European politics and worked with Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl to develop the European community into the European Union. On September 22, 1984, Kohl and Mitterrand met at the site of the 1916 Battle of Verdun to jointly commemorate the dead of the two world wars. The two politicians clasped hands for one minute to symbolize German and French reconciliation.

Helmut Kohl und François Mitterrand im Karlsruher Schloss

Mitterrand and Kohl also visited Karlsruhe Palace.

German-French summits

During the 50th meeting of the semiannual German-French consultations, Mitterand and Kohl made several decisions about collaboration between France and the Federal Republic of Germany. In response to an ultimatum from Paris—the French Postmaster General threatened to boycott the summit at Karlsruhe if necessary—the Federal Republic of Germany finally ceased their resistance against the introduction of the extremely practical and successful French viewdata system called 'Minite'.

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