I travelled to Greux, a village of some 150 inhabitants, by aeroplane and train, and was greeted by the mayor on arriving in the afternoon of Friday 5th June 1992. The weekend was officially opened by a host of local dignitaries and the special guest, M. Thierry Lavaud, the youngest mayor in France at 22 years of age, who was to preside over the whole weekend. The mayor of Greux and his organising committee rightly received much praise for their meticulous planning of the weekend, which was financed by a number of local sponsors, and the importance of Europe even at village level was stressed.
The European guests were accommodated in a small hotel in the neighbouring village of Domrémy-La-Pucelle, where we were treated on Friday evening to the first of several superb meals of genuine French cuisine.
Saturday morning was spent in the dance-hall in Greux, which was used for many of the events over the weekend. Children from the primary schools of three neighbouring villages p6rformed a series of sketches, songs and dances with a European flavour which, open to the public like all the events, were very well attended. After lunch at the hotel, we were given a guided tour of Neufchâteau, a nearby town with a population of 9,000, following which the first set of speeches was presented in the dance-hall in Greux. The Danish representative, whose views were much in demand only days after his country's rejection of the Maastricht Treaty, gave an account of the postal service in Denmark and the difficulties faced in coping with mail from other European countries. Discussions followed concerning electricity and railway services in Europe.
I spent the early evening putting the final touches to my own speech for the following day before returning to the dance-hall for the second group of speeches. Through a translator, one of two German representatives explained how the agricultural industry in his country is threatened by mechanisation and an open European market to an equal, if not greater extent than the French farmers. A lively debate followed with several local farmers in the audience putting forward their case and it was agreed that sensitive steps are called for in preserving the agricultural identity of every E.C. country. The vice-president of the Belgian public transport federation then explained how the opening of European frontiers is likely to facilitate long-distance travel only on an administrative level. A three-hour session of discussion was completed with speeches on industry and banking.
The events of Sunday morning represented the highlight of the weekend for most of those involved in the 'Journées Européennes'. After a short ecumenical service at the village church, the European visitors each planted a tree to represent their own particular country in a European garden next to the church. We then each released a dove as a sign of peace in Europe, much to the delight of the two or three hundred people who had come to watch the ceremony. A procession of about forty antique cars from the area made its way through the village and was displayed outside the dance-hall, where some two hundred people enjoyed a traditional Lorraine lunch. There then followed a very impressive display of European dances by a group from Neufchâteau, on a specially constructed outdoor platform.
The final set of speeches began at 4pm and as well as my talk on the Higher Education system in Great Britain, there were accounts of German Secondary Education, the importance of family life in Portugal and the current state of the Health Service in Greece. Later in the evening, a concert was given in the church by a band of young musicians from Neufchâteau, who had also contributed to the service earlier in the day.
Before the concluding lunch on Monday, the foreign guests were taken to the village of Grand, which boasts a large Roman amphitheatre and the largest remaining Roman mosaic. We also visited the house of Joan of Arc's birth, in Domrémy, situated only two kilometres from Greux.
As the European visitors each prepared to return to their home countries, we were presented with a number of mementos to remind us of Greux and the 'Journées Européennes'. We all agreed that the hard work of the people of Greux had ensured a superb weekend which had accomplished more for Europe than all the delegates in Brussels could ever achieve. The spirit of European unity and the need to develop together while protecting the cultural identity of each nation were uppermost in all the minds of those who had participated and it was thus on a positive note that the festival drew to a close on Monday afternoon.
Last updated Dec 2000