Paris salutes President Obama

by Susan Owensby

Article published on the 2009-01-24 Latest update 2009-01-26 16:41 TU

(Photo: Kalidjata Miete Montier)

On Tuesday 20 January, the day US President-elect Barack Obama became President Barack Obama, Paris’s Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, gave a party for the American expatriate community at the Hotel de Ville – Paris’ rococo City Hall.

The party was a bipartisan event - Republicans were invited, too - and was given in recognition of the diverse populations that make up Paris. The mayor has also given parties for other communities – there have been receptions for Paris’ Chinese and Berber populations, to name just two.

(Photo: Kalidjata Miete Montier)

The mayor opened the festivities with a speech, in which he said: “Vive la démocratie américaine, et Vive President Barack Obama!” - which was welcomed with thunderous applause.

He was followed by the US ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, a Bush appointee, whose speech was politely applauded.

(Photo: Kalidjata Miete Montier)

The Golden Gate Quartet, an American gospel group founded in 1934 came next. The singers broke the colour barrier in 1941 when they became the first black group to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington DC, for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inauguration. They sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”.

Close to 1,300 people were in the elaborate Salle des Fêtes (the room would fit right in at Versailles), where a huge television screen was installed, so the guests could follow the inauguration, step by step. This was followed by  champagne of course, and a concert by The Golden Gate Quartet.

Although this was a bi-partisan event, most of the revelers were, obviously, Democrats. Connie Borde, vice-president of Democrats Abroad, France, said: “I am floating on a cloud!”

The atmosphere was one of hope and optimism. People compared the moment to John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, and the feeling of hope – and the desire to serve – that it inspired.

Others – frequent travellers and humanitarian workers - noted the deterioration of the US in the eyes of the world, and said they felt Obama’s election would go a long way towards repairing that image.

And quite a few expats expressed a desire to go “home”, much as they love France and think of it, also, as their home.