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France’s Sarkozy gives unenthusiastic welcome to Gül
Gül arrived in Paris on Wednesday for an official three-day visit on the occasion of the Season of Turkey in France, a nine-month-long project promoting Turkish culture in France through various activities which began in June and continue through March.
On Wednesday and Thursday Sarkozy postponed his meeting with Gül more than once, each time scheduling a different hour. Eventually, before opening the exhibition at the Grand Palais with Gül, Sarkozy ensured extremely limited participation of media in the opening. In an apparent bid to soften the tension in the atmosphere due to his approach, Sarkozy kissed the hand of President Gül's spouse, Hayrünnisa Gül, during the opening of the exhibition.
Nonetheless, both the İstanbul Foundation of Culture and Art (İKSV) and the Executive Board of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency had taken more than 30 Turkish journalists to cover the event.
The idea of sponsoring festivities to promote Turkish culture in France first emerged during the terms of former Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and former French President Jacques Chirac as a means to improve Turkey's image in France, where a majority of the population opposes Turkey's accession to the EU. The original idea was to hold a Turkish year, but plans were downgraded to a “season” amid political tensions between the two countries.
 Abdullah Gül and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, jointly inaugurated the “From Byzantium to İstanbul, One Port for Two Continents” exhibition at Paris' Grand Palais on Friday. |
Sarkozy believes that Turkey does not belong in Europe and proposes instead a privileged partnership that falls short of membership in the 27-nation EU.
In June when Sarkozy further emphasized his anti-Turkish membership in the run-up to elections for the European Parliament, doubts over whether the Turkish season would be held as planned were reinforced, particularly due to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's frustration with Sarkozy's electioneering. At the time, Erdoğan had said that his government was considering whether to cancel the Turkish season because he was unsure it would have any benefit.
Later, Erdoğan was persuaded to go ahead with the plans, particularly due to efforts by Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay and Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bağış.
As part of the activities organized for the Season of Turkey in France, the Eiffel Tower, usually lit with white lights, has been illuminated in red and white. Although it was previously announced that the light display would last for three weeks, the period of illumination was reduced to five days, reportedly due to problems with the company that set up the lights. However, there have been rumors that the period was reduced to five days due to pressure from the Élysée Palace.
Gül, meanwhile, in a speech delivered earlier on Friday, emphasized that Turkey's accession to the EU would not only be beneficial to Turkey, but would also bring in dynamism to the bloc.
“If the negotiation process is successfully finalized, then the French and the Austrians will cast their votes in referenda and whether you like that day's Turkey or not, you may either say ‘yes,' or ‘no' on that day. Maybe on that day Turkey will say, ‘No, I will proceed down my own path' and ‘I will be like Norway',” Gül said, referring to the fact that the Norwegians refused to become EU members in a 1994 referendum.
Gül's remarks came at a conference arranged by MEDEF, the largest and most influential organization of entrepreneurs' organizations in France.
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