On the demonstration of the Russian documentary film “Died for France” in the Lyceum “Labourdonnais”

On the 14 November 2018 in the Lyceum “Labourdonnais” attached to the Embassy of France on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the First World War the Russian Embassy in collaboration with the Lyceum administration organized the demonstration of the documentary film “Died for France” by Sergey Zaitsev about the heroism of Russian soldiers fighting comprising the Russian Expeditionary corps and which sacrificed themselves on the territory of France during the First World War.

Before the start of the screening a special address of S.Zaitsev was presented to the audience where he briefly told about the history of the creation of the artwork and underlined the importance of preserving in France and in the whole world the historical memory of the contribution of our country to the victory in the First World War.

Particularly significant in this regard were the words said those years by the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, French Marshal Mr.Ferdinand Foch - “Si la France n`a pas été effacée de la carte de l`Europe, c`est avant tout à la Russie que nous le devons”.

The Director of Lyceum Mr. J.Stephan, Ambassador of France H.E. Mr.E.Cohet, teacher of Russian language and the President of the Coordinative Council of Russian Compatriots in Mauritius Mrs. Olga Bogacheva, the President of the Association of Mauritian Graduates from Soviet and Russian Universities Mr. R.Radhay as well as senior students, their parents and members of the Mauritian public were present at the event.

By the demonstration of the documentary “Died for France” a start was given to the Russian cinema club initiated by the Russian Embassy and Mrs. Bogacheva. Within the framework of the Club we are planning to demonstrate Russian movies made in different years to pupils and professors of the Lyceum as well as to all admirers of the cinema on the island.

During the evening, an exhibition of paintings «What a big world: Africa and Middle East» drawn by Russian children from the Nizny Novgorod district within the framework of an International competition «My childhood dream» initiated by the Deputy of the Russian State Duma Mr.A.Kavinov was presented to the audience. The exposition was earlier demonstrated in Morocco and Congo and after Mauritius will continue its journey through other African countries.

The event was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere.