9/11 20th anniversary commemorations at the Consulate General of France in New York [fr]
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the Consulate General of France paid tribute to the victims and their families.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
On Saturday September 11, the Consulate General of France in New York participated in the "Remember the Sky" campaign organized by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the attacks, by publishing a photo of the sky on its social network.
Inspired by the clear blue sky of the morning of September 11, 2001, this campaign pays tribute to the victims and references the work "Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning" by artist Spencer Finch, on display at the Memorial. Composed of 2,983 watercolors in a unique shade of blue, the work honors the individuality of each of the fallen.
#NeverForget911 | On this 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Consulate General of France in New York pays tribute to the fallen, their families and honors all who risked their lives to save others. pic.twitter.com/8M6nOudDxU
— Consulate of France in New York (@franceinnyc) September 11, 2021
The Consulate General also welcomed French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne, who attended the official ceremony organized by the 9/11 Memorial for family members of the victims.
Following the commemorations, the Ambassador spoke on France Télévisions and Franceinfo, underlining the strong emotion felt during the ceremony and recalling the historic friendship and solidarity between France and the United States, which have both experienced terrorist attacks on their soil.
📺 L'ambassadeur de la France aux Etats-Unis, @Ph_Etienne, raconte au micro d'@AgnesVahramian sur @franceinfoplus comment il a vécu ces commémorations au goût particulier, 20 ans après les #attentats du #11septembre2001 @franceinnyc @franceintheus pic.twitter.com/xvHc3sjOyi
— France TV Washington (@F2Washington) September 11, 2021
Dimanche 12 septembre 2021
On Sunday, September 12, the Consulate General of France in New York organized a commemorative ceremony in honor of the French victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks: Michael P. Colbert, Danielle Delie, Jérôme Lohez, Eric Ropiteau, Thierry Saada.
Consul General Jérémie Robert introduced the ceremony, before giving the floor to the Ambassador of France to the United States.
A moment of silence was then observed in tribute to the victims, followed by the French and American national anthems, performed by Marie Viapiano and the Lafayette Cadets.
Then, Dening Lohez, wife of Jérôme Lohez, Nina Saada, sister-in-law of Thierry Saada, and Yves Busnel, survivor of the attacks, shared their precious memories and testimonies with the public.
Discover Yves Busnel’s testimony in Lionel Gendron’s podcast Une Lettre d’Amérique on RTL, starting at 15:30.
Also discover the video presentation of the Jerome Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation made by Dening Lohez for the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td0tKhMcK2A
Camille Kelly, a student at the Lycée Français de New York and volunteer at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, also spoke, reminding us of the importance of passing on the memory to the younger generations.
The ceremony ended with the laying of a wreath in front of the commemorative plaque in honor of the French victims located in the lobby of the Consulate General and the planting of daffodil bulbs in their memory, as part of New York City’s Daffodil project.
