France's National Day was celebrated with an event held in Ankara.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the European Union (EU) Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay, French Ambassador to Ankara Isabelle Dumont, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş and many guests attended the event held at the French Embassy in Ankara.
In his speech here, Bozay reminded that Ottoman-French diplomatic relations were established in 1483 and explained that there are strong uninterrupted ties between the two countries.
Referring to the mutual respect and regular contacts between the presidents of the two countries, Bozay said, "As a matter of fact, based on this mutual will displayed at the highest level, we aim to further develop the cooperation between Turkey and France in every field and on every continent." he said.
"Today, in Paris, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hakan Fidan, attended the ceremonies held together with our allies and partners to celebrate this day of pride for the French people. Economy and trade are among the most important elements of our relations with France. We achieved a trade volume of 24 billion dollars in 2025. We aim to increase this figure to 30 billion dollars by 2030."
Ambassador Dumont said, "I would like to thank you on behalf of the entire team of our embassy for joining us this evening to celebrate our National Day in the company of 68 million French citizens and France's friends around the world." he said.
"I congratulate the Turkish authorities for the organization of the NATO Summit"
Referring to the NATO Summit held in Ankara on July 7-8, Dumont said, "I sincerely congratulate the Turkish authorities and especially our diplomat colleagues for the organization of this summit, which once again demonstrates the importance of our alliance in the face of security issues." he said.
Dumont said, "Whether to combat threats to our security or to deal with the consequences of climate change, all of us here know how important Türkiye is for its partners and how important its partners are for Turkey. COP31, which will be held in Antalya just a few months after the NATO summit, is one of the most concrete indicators of this. France is working to establish an assertive relationship with Türkiye in line with this understanding." he said.
Stating that today, the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights, which was adopted in 1789 and inspired many nations, is also commemorated, Dumont said, "Let us not forget that the principle of "The basis of sovereignty lies essentially in the nation" in the third article of this text is also embodied in the motto of the Republic of Turkey, "Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation." he said.
Following the speeches, Tevfik Fikret High School jazz orchestra students gave a mini concert and guests were served a meal.
The winner of the "Plum Branch" duel is friendship
At the end of the reception, Ambassador Dumont and Belgian Ambassador to Ankara Hendrik Van de Velde played "Plum Branch" together. Ömer Faruk Bostan, who was at the event and sang the song "Erik Dalı", said that the winner of the "Erik Dalı" duel was "Türkiye-Belgium-France friendship".
At the "Defense, Aerospace Industry High Level Interaction Event" organized by the Belgian Embassy in Ankara on May 13, images of Ambassador Van de Velde playing "Ankara style" were shared. The French Embassy in Ankara invited the Belgian Ambassador to Ankara, Van de Velde, to play "Plum Branch" with the French Ambassador to Ankara, Isabelle Dumont, on the July 14 National Day.