The building of the National Center for Armenian Remembrance, in Décines, France

DÉCINES, France—On Sunday, October 20, French Minister of Culture Aurelie Filipetti inaugurated the National Center for Armenian Remembrance (Centre National de la Mémoire Arménienne) in the French city of Décines, journalist Jean Eckian reports.

For this occasion the Minister declared, “Never forget what happened in 1915. The facts are established, and the Armenian Genocide was recognized by law in the Republic.”

“The propaganda of its deniers can not be accepted,” Filipetti continued. “Therefore, with the commitment of President François Hollande, the government is considering legal means to ensure the observance of these principles established by our Constitution and our international and European obligations”, she said, referring to recently renewed efforts to make the denial of the Armenian Genocide illegal in France.

The center, housed in an ultra-modern building of 900 square meters, has a library, an archival chamber of 100 sq. meters and a conference room.

The Center’s collection is comprised of about 12,000 books and 110,000 documents, “part of which is processed, standardized and digitized.” The works cover the history, memory, language, culture, and art of the Armenian community of France and Europe.