French ambassador visits Kathimerini HQ
A breath of France wafted into Kathimerini’s headquarters in Neo Faliron last week, on a wind-swept afternoon as the waves crashed against the breakwaters. French Ambassador in Athens Bruno Delaye, accompanied by embassy officials, visited the newspaper to meet the editorial team on the job. The conversation was in French and English depending on the language in which each question was posed, as Delaye is fluent in both. «Since you Greeks speak both English and French, that is one reason I have not learned Greek,» said Delaye. «When I came here a year ago, I set about learning the language, but when I tried to show my progress during my first meetings here, everyone replied in either French or English, so I gave up,» he added. In the early part of his career, Delaye had worked with the late Francois Mitterrand, prime minister and later president of the French Republic, accompanying him on his trips to Athens. He had been honored with the Order of the Phoenix, presented to him in Paris by the then Greek ambassador Christos Rokofyllos. He was favorably impressed by Greece and its «dynamic» people. «Athens has a new image after the Olympic Games of 2004,» he said. Paris is a candidate for the 2012 Games, vying with Rome, London and Madrid.
