we remember, Warsaw
Horse Races
When the race lasts for hundreds of years, it is worth placing your bet on a proven horse.
Even if the horse stumbles and the rider falls with it into the mud, it is still worth it – knowing that together they will reach the finish line, even if they come in last.
Polish-French relations reach far back into history.
But let us focus on the era of Napoleon.
For much of his rule, France’s attitude toward Poland was guided by France’s own gain.
It is obvious that in those times Poland – absent from the map – had no bargaining chips and was treated instrumentally.
Yet was that really the whole truth?
The story of a bribe offered to one of the most notoriously corrupt French diplomats reveals the depth of this relationship.
After receiving a large sum of money meant to persuade Napoleon on Polish matters, Talleyrand returned the entire amount to the Polish emissaries, saying that nothing could be done.
And yet, that act built bridges which eventually led to an outcome: the dream became reality.
Poland, waiting for the sunbeams that would pierce the darkness, found in the French nation one of the greatest allies in all its history.
Captain de Gaulle stands in the last row
Were it not for the events following the First World War and France’s stance, perhaps Poland would never have found the strength to face and endure what was to come.
After demobilising its forces at the end of the war, France handed over large quantities of military equipment for Poland’s use.
It opened the possibility of credit that became the lifeblood of a nation fighting for freedom.
People such as de Gaulle only strengthened the bonds between our nations.
And one thing must be remembered – states have no friends, only common interests.
Charles de Gaulle in Poland 1920
De Gaulle not only took part in France’s campaigns in defence of Poland in the years following the First World War;
he saw in Poland one of the links in the future family of Europeans.
His words during his visit to Poland could not find fertile ground then, because Poland at that time was only a colony of another empire.
Yet many decades later they bore fruit.
They took root in the soil where they were spoken – so deeply that Poland now proudly carries in its national anthem threads that bind it to the French nation…