On 16 November 2023, the Jean Monnet Foundation was honoured to receive the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, for a visit to its archives as part of the State visit. The visit preceded a conference given by the two presidents at the University of Lausanne.
Presidents Macron and Berset were warmly welcomed by Christelle Luisier Brodard, President of the Council of State of the Canton of Vaud; Pat Cox, President of the Jean Monnet Foundation and former President of the European Parliament; Frédéric Herman, Rector of the University of Lausanne; Gilles Grin, Director of the Jean Monnet Foundation; Jacques de Watteville, Vice-President of the Jean Monnet Foundation and former Secretary of State of the Swiss Confederation; and Dominique de Buman, member of the Executive Council of the Jean Monnet Foundation and former President of the Swiss Federal Parliament.
During a guided tour of the archives, the two presidents and their delegation were able to discover a number of emblematic items showing the decisive importance of the work of Jean Monnet (1888-1979) in bringing people together. Jean Monnet played a major role in the Allied war effort during the two world wars and in the reconstruction and modernisation of the French economy after the Second World War. He was the designer and first President of the first European Coal and Steel Community. In 1976, he became Europe’s first honorary citizen, and his ashes have rested in the Panthéon since 1988. In addition to archive items relating to Jean Monnet, the Foundation also highlighted during the visit certain posters drawn from a brand new exceptional collection of 5,000 items.
Since its creation in 1978 by Jean Monnet, the Foundation has been a living memory and a forum for reflection and discussion on the various facets of the major issues involved in building Europe and Switzerland’s place in Europe. The Foundation is a purely non-profit-making, non-militant and non-partisan institution. Its activities are made possible by the support of the State of Vaud, the Swiss Confederation, the City of Lausanne and the University of Lausanne.
