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Exchange of Toasts between the President and Valery Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic
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7344090
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Exchange of Toasts between the President and Valery Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
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1976-05-18
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1976
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Digitized from Box 26 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 18, 1976
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
EXCHANGE OF TOASTS
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT
AND
VALERY GISCARD D'ESTAING
PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
THE FRENCH EMBASSY
10:36 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT GISCARD D'ESTAING: Mr. President, it
is a great pleasure for Madam Giscard d'Estaing and myself
to welcome you and Mrs. Ford this evening here in this
French abode and to return to you some of the warm hospitality
that you and the American people have extended to me since
the beginning of mv visit.
Now this is the fifth time we have met in 18
months, and during the past two davs we have had useful
and trusting talks together. "e are getting to know each
other well, and I would like to take this opportunity to
tell you how delighted I am with the contacts and, if I
may say, with the friendship that has been established
between us.
A few weeks ago, Mr. President, you said that
French-American relations were better today than they had
ever been. I share your view wholeheartedlv, but I would
like to add that we owe this state of affairs largely to
you, to your personal conviction and your breadth of vision
and I hope that I will not be accused of interfering in your
country's domestic affairs if T testify to this here, but
that is a risk I am prepared to run.
I agreed to make this visit for obvious reasons.
Given the role France played two centuries ago, it was only
fitting that France would be first in joining in the cele-
brations for the Bicentennial of the United States and
sharing with special feeling the ioy of the American
people.
But something else struck me. Though our countries
are lined by so many memories and share the same values
and belong to the same alliance and are so often led by
major world affairs to exchange views and DOOL their
efforts, nevertheless our countries' knowledge and under-
standing of each other is too often insufficient and super-
ficial, and even their trade relations are not commensurate
with the place each one holds in the world economy.
MORE
Page 2
Now, such a situation is paradoxical. It is
also harmful and should be corrected. For this reason
I am pleased at the renewed interest on both sides that my
visit at your invitation has generated between our two
countries. For the people of France, it has been an
occasion to discover the realities of present-day America
as they have been presented on this occasion bv our com-
bined information services.
T would like to think it has also helped the
American people to become better acquainted with the
France of today, the France that is changing by virtue of
her younger outlook and her sense of effort.
For this reason I also set great value, as vou
know you do, too, Mr. President, on the cooperation that
we have decided to implement in an area that is limited
but full of human implications. T am referring to the war
on cancer. I shall follow its development personally.
For this reason, lastly, I hope that there will
be more and more contacts and meetings between our two
countries and that, in fact, will be the aim of the two
foundations which have just been established, one in New
York and the other in Paris, in order to promote relations
between the United States and France.
Under the guidance of well-known figures, thev
will work together closely to further exchanges and dialogue
between our two countries. Now, one of the objectives of
my visit to which T am most attached will thus be achieved.
I know, Mr. President, that it meets your wishes, too;
that is, that France and the United States should know
each other better in order to understand each other better.
Our two countries will thus be able to sail in
company just as they did when the first French fleet came
to fight by your side. In fact, the arrangement of the
tables for this dinner is symbelic in that it reproduces the
battle order.
I can't help but pause here just to say how much
I admire the freshness and the naiveness of the sentiment
of the men of those times. I would like to draw your
attention to the menu card and the engraving on the first
Dage, which is a picture that I chose myself among the
Archives in our country and the engraving commemorates
the independence of the United States.
The very first line, which is dated the Fourth
of July, 1976, the 13 colonies that since have become
known as the United States -- well, I can but confirm
that since that time they certainly have become very
well known as the United States of America.
MORE
Page 3
Here I must also refer to the names of the French
ships that came to the aid of their American allies.
Here again we note the great variety in the names of the
ships which will also perhaps reflect the variety in
the relationships between our two countries. I see that
there is a ship called La Sensible, and even the Le
Fantasque, and by a curious intuition for those times, I
see that there was also a ship known as the Concorde.
(Laughter)
But perhaps more to the point, I think you will
agree is the fact that the La Victoire is among us. So,
it is in memory of that last ship that I would now like
to raise my glass in honor of the President of the
United States and Mrs. Ford, and all the distinguished
Americans who did us the honor and pleasure of accepting
our invitation and also in honor of the great American
people to whom I say on this, their birthday, many happy
returns of the day.
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. President, Madam Giscard
d'Estaing, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Thank you very kindly, Mr. President, for your
very thoughtful and very generous words. Mrs. Ford and I
are most appreciative and highly honored for the oppor-
tunity to join with you and your many friends here on
this occasion this evening.
Once again I have a first-hand opportunity and
a welcome opportunity, I might say, to enjoy the
incomparable hospitality and cuisine of the French people
as well as yourself. France's reputation, as we all know,
for its hospitality is just one of the many dimensions
of French contributions to the world as a whole.
Frequent mention has been made during your visit,
and appropriately so, Mr. President, of France's role in
our struggle in this country for our independence. Yet,
the French influence in America long preceded 1776. Much
of the new world was opened by French explorers such as
Marquette and LaSalle. Their influence is very obvious,
very apparent in the names of American towns and American
cities, north and south, from Detroit to Joliet to New
Orleans.
French influence is still very vivid in Louisiana,
which you, Mr. President, will visit later this week.
Closer to home, we enjoy the superb artistry of L'Enfant and
design of our beautiful capital city. It was he who
selected the site for the Capitol Building and for the
White House itself, creating for the latter a beautiful
President's park where your helicopter landed just
yesterday.
MORE
Page 4
French philosophers have profoundly influenced
and inspired the nature of our democracy and the spirit of
our laws in America. Thanks in a very large measure to the
writings of Montesquieu andRousseau, our nations share a
heritage of human values. These values are today the very
basis of our philosophy, of our freedom, our justice as
well as our equality.
America remains greatly inspired by the wisdom
and the vision of France in the history of our great
country. It is especially gratifying to celebrate the
Bicentennial of our independence with the distinguished
President of our country's oldest friend and oldest
ally. Ours is a partnership and an alliance unique in
world history, a relationship which each has extended the
hand of friendship and assistance to the other in the hour
of maximum peril.
As in the past, our security and our prosperity
still depend upon our willingness to work together, to
cooperate in meeting common problems and meeting common
challenges.
We meet tonight, Mr. President, in a time of
peace. Continued peace requires that every democracy
remains strong and prepared to defend its liberty. As
Washington said, "To be prepared for war is one of the
most effectual means of preserving the peace.'
In a gesture symbolic of the commitment of both of
our nations in safeguarding the security of our peoples,
Madam Giscard d'Estaing will travel to Mississippi in
the next day or two to christen the United States Navy's
newest destroyer, the DeGrasse, and I compliment you and
wish you well on that fine occasion on Saturday.
This ship, Mr. President, named for the French
Admiral whose fleet made possible a very decisive victory
at Yorktown will contribute to the strength and to the
capability of our own Navy. The DeGrasse will also
contribute to the objectives and to the goals that we
share with France, to preserve the peace, to protect our
freedom and to keep the sea lanes of the world fully
open to the democratic nations.
Mr. President, for two hundred years France and
the United States shared dreams, shared challenges,
shared victories in every sphere of human endeavor. The
mutual esteem and inspiration which mark our relationship
today flow from common ideals, determination and mutual
reinforcement. I foresee a very vital partnership for
generations to come between our two nations.
MORE
Page 5
I might say on a personal basis, Mr. President,
it has been a unique and a wonderful experience for me to
have made your acquaintance and to have worked with you,
and I look forward to a continuation of that experience
for what I hope is the benefit of our countries for a
good many years to come.
It is altogether fitting that the nation which
two centuries ago gave the world two very fundamental
charters of liberty -- our Declaration of Independence
and the declaration of the rights of man -- should still
stand together for freedom and for justice for all.
So, let us toast that partnership on the eve of
this third century.
To the health of the President of the French
Republic and to the liberty, equality and fraternity of
the people of France and the United States.
END
(AT 10:58 P.M. EDT)