SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TOAST AT NEW YORK DINNER OF INTERNATIONAL

 

ORGANIZATION OF LA FRANCOPHONIE

 

(Translated from the original French.)

This is the text of a toast by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a dinner in New York on 24 September 2008 hosted by the International Organization of la Francophonie:

My dear friend Bernard Kouchner, Minister for Foreign Affairs,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Mr. Minister, thank you for your kind words.  What a pleasure to see you again in New York.  You are, of course, one of our former United Nations colleagues -- but you have also become my loyal friend.  I thank you for your support.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here I am among you again.  This is the second Francophones’ dinner in which I am participating as Secretary-General.  I am intimidated but delighted.

Last year, I let you in on a secret:  I am suffering from a one-way love for the French language.

You may have noticed it yourselves; it is a love that is not requited.

And so, after our meeting one year ago, I decided to take the bull by the horns.  I promised myself that the language of Marianne and I would become closer.

In private, in front of the mirror, I began to declaim passion-filled lines from French literature.  The moment of truth had arrived.

I began by that bold line from Racine:

“Je crains votre silence, et non pas vos injures.”  (“It is your silence I fear, and not your terms of scorn.”)

Feeling more and more confident, I moved on to Balzac:

“Un homme est bien fort quand il s’avoue sa faiblesse.”  (“A man who acknowledges his weakness is strong indeed.”)

Still no answer from the beautiful woman.  Then I ended with Verlaine’s cri de coeur:

“Il pleure dans mon coeur

Comme il pleut sur la ville,

Quelle est cette langueur

Qui pénètre mon coeur?”

(“There is weeping in my heart,

Like rain sweeping over the town,

What is this languor

That pervades my heart?”)

Thanks to Verlaine, the French language took pity on me.  I could feel a response -- a bond.

Of course, it is still an unrequited love -- and I know that it always will be.

I will never be anything more than an amateur.  An amateur, after all, is someone who loves without expecting anything in return.

Yet, little by little, I think that French and I are becoming closer.

Now, whenever I meet a French leader -- including Nicolas Sarkozy or Bernard Kouchner -- I make sure to slip in some new expressions that will impress him.

I told Nicolas Sarkozy, for example, that “nos montres marquent constamment la même heure”. (“We are always on the same page.”)

And I make a point of using ever more complicated grammatical constructions.

I fully intend to seize every opportunity that presents itself.

Next year, I will offer you overwhelming proof of my unconditional love: the imperfect subjunctive!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I invite you to raise your glasses to the French language, to the Francophone family and to all its members -- amateurs and professionals.

I thank you.

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For information media • not an official record