[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[June 7, 1994]
[Pages 1059-1060]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Dinner Hosted by President Francois Mitterrand of France in 
Paris
June 7, 1994

    Mr. President, Madame Mitterrand, Mr. Prime Minister, Madame 
Balladur, distinguished citizens of France, my fellow Americans, and 
honored guests, this week, as our two nations mark the 50th anniversary 
of D-Day and the battles of World War II, I'm glad to have this chance 
to note the special place France will always have in America's heart. So 
many of our greatest sons and daughters have shared that attachment. Our 
first two ministers to this great land were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas 
Jefferson. Franklin Roosevelt loved France. So did John and Jacqueline 
Kennedy.
    As President, every day as I go to work I am reminded of the bonds 
between our two nations. The park across the street from the White House 
is Lafayette Park. No statue in all of Washington stands closer to the 
Oval Office itself than that of Rochambeau. Today we're building new 
bonds between our republics as we work together to address the great 
endeavors of our time, many of which the President has already outlined, 
building bridges toward the East, opening the world markets, doing what 
we can to support democracy, working to strengthen the NATO Alliance and 
to unify Europe through the Partnership For Peace, cooperating to 
address the most difficult and painful conflicts of this era. Mr. 
President, the United States supports a strong Europe, an integrated 
Europe, a Europe with political and economic and security unity and 
singleness of purpose with its appreciation of diversity.

[[Page 1060]]

    We wish to be partners with you in the common struggles of the 21st 
century. The fact that we have sometimes a difficult partnership makes 
it all the more interesting and also makes some things in life less 
necessary.
    Our wonderful Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, once said, ``Our 
enemies are our friends, for they show us our faults.'' Sometimes with 
the French and the Americans we no longer need enemies. [Laughter] But 
it is always in the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood.
    I can honestly say that with every passing day of my Presidency I 
come to appreciate France more, the strength, the will, the vision, the 
possibilities of genuine partnership. I think it is our common destiny, 
as you alluded, Mr. President, to see that our countries remain forever 
young, forever restless, forever questing, forever looking for new hills 
to climb, new challenges to meet, new problems to solve.
    As I was preparing for this visit, I was given something by another 
of America's greatest admirers of your nation, our Ambassador, Mrs. 
Harriman. She sent me a poem composed in memory of the gallant soldiers 
who died on D-Day, from the members of the Allied effort to storm the 
beaches of Normandy to the shadow warriors of the French Resistance and 
the Free French army, without whom Europe would not be free today. Here 
it is:

    Went the day well.
    We died and never knew.
    But well or ill,
    Freedom, we died for you.

    Mr. President, the United States and France are destined forever to 
be the beacons of freedom for the entire world. Please join me now in a 
toast to the democratic spirit of our beloved nations, to the heroes of 
D-Day whose sacrifices we came to honor, and to the proposition that the 
spirit of liberty should burn forever brightly in the hearts of all the 
people of France and the United States of America.

Note: The President spoke at 10:19 p.m. in the Salle des Fetes at the 
Elysee Palace. In his remarks, he referred to Danielle Mitterrand, wife 
of President Mitterrand; Marie Joseph Balladur, wife of Prime Minister 
Balladur; and Pamela Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to France.