studentsineurope

Commemorate the Fall of the Wall from Paris

Place de la Concorde, the setting for France's musical commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Pierre Lellouche, France’s Secretary of State in charge of European affairs, will give a “gift to Germany” this Monday. If you happen to be in Paris on the 9th – the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – it may be a gift to you as well.

To commemorate the anniversary, France is putting on a show: a 25-minute cello concert atop a construction replicating the wall. Laser images of the wall’s grafitti will be projected on the exteriors of the Hotel Crillon, the Marine Ministry and other facades around Place de la Concorde – where the concert will be held.

“France wants the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall to be an occasion for a strong gesture toward Germany, to show our German friends that this event is from now on part of our common European history,” Lellouche said. Several French officials will attend the concert, though President Nikolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Berlin for the commemoration.

Place de la Concorde, 7pm; click here for map.