Scheduled Events

28. 6. 200814:04

June 29, 2008: Celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the Darney event

Celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the recognition of the independent and sovereign state of Czechs and Slovaks by France. On Sunday, June 29, 2008 Czech Premier Mirek Topolánek will be attending a ceremony in Darney, France, celebrating The Day of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the recognition of the independent and sovereign state of Czechs and Slovaks by French President Raymond Poincaré. 

As many as 6,000 Czechoslovak legionnaires lined up for a ceremonial military parade and oath of allegiance and loyalty to the nascent Czechoslovak Republic in the French town of Darney on June 30, 1918. The official guests at that time included Edvard Beneš, officials of the Czechoslovak National Council, of the Allied armed forces and French President Raymond Poincaré who recognized the existence of the new independent state in his official speech to the legionnaires. President Poincaré then presented the 21st Regiment with a banner made according to a design by Czech painter František Kupka - as a gift from the city of Paris. In 2002, former Czech President Václav Havel designated June 30 as the Day of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic to mark the events in Darney. 

During his current visit to Darney, Czech Premier Mirek Topolánek will visit the town’s cultural centre and the Czechoslovak-French Museum which commemorates the events of June 30, 1918.

Press Department of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic