Macron praises the importance of the April 25th revolution in the European democratic path – April 25th 50 years

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, today praised the importance of the April 25th revolution in the European democratic path, recalling that “today’s Europe owes a lot” to the courage of the then young ‘captains of April’.

“Tomorrow (Thursday), we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution. I would like to join our friends in Portugal, the Portuguese in France and all our compatriots of Portuguese origin to celebrate this very important anniversary for democracy in Europe”, said the French head of state in a video released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of April 25th.

In the same message, the French President did not forget the young ‘captains of April’ who “expressed the hope of an entire people in peace and democracy”. “They weren’t even thirty years old and they were already heroes. Today’s Europe owes a lot to their courage”, says Macron.

For the French head of state, the friendship between Portugal and France is reinforced to this day by the flow of citizens, since the dictatorship when many Portuguese sought a better life in France and to this day live between the two countries.

“France is proud to have welcomed into its territory hundreds of thousands of Portuguese men and women in the 1950s and 1960s, exiled by poverty, the systematic violation of their rights, arbitrary and cruel political repression, and their refusal to participate in this system and in these unjust wars”, said the French President.

Currently, the two countries share “secular ties”, prepare the future of the European Union and defend the causes that determine the future, sharing “the same vision of a free, democratic and fair world”, defended the French President.

“We owe it to the memory of the ‘captains of April’ and to the Portuguese people who, fifty years ago, stood up against injustice and poverty and won the admiration of France, Europe and the world with a red carnation in their hand”, said Macron, ending his message with “April 25th, always! Long live Portugal! Thank you to Portugal!”.

In the video, Macron also listed some Portuguese personalities who fought for democracy, such as Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa, who fought for women’s rights, as well as Mário Soares, Álvaro Cunhal and Emídio Guerreiro, who took refuge in France before the revolution, having returned to Portugal after April 25, 1974.