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Hungary’s head of state Katalin Novák met with Nicolas Sarkozy, visited UNESCO, and held a lecture in front of university students during her stay in Paris.
President Katalin Novák traveled to Paris to attend the International Peace Forum at the invitation of her French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
Novák’s first trip on Thursday took her to “Hungary’s long-standing friend” Nikolas Sarkozy. “With the former Head of State of France, we discussed how much Europe and the world need Hungary acting as a bridge,” she wrote on Facebook. “We Hungarians are not only geographically located at the meeting point of east and west, north and south, but also understand the various nations and people, and are able to mediate between them,” Novák added.
The president gave a lecture on Hungarian family policy at the Institut de Philosophie Comparée. “The family is at the heart of our identity,” she stressed.
Novák underscored that Hungary is also facing demographic challenges, with a population that has been steadily declining for four decades. She said that Hungary spends 6.2 percent of its GDP on family support.
Discours à l’Université #IPC de #Paris sur l’importance de la famille, d’un équilibre sain entre vie professionnelle et vie privée et des valeurs chrétiennes conservatrices. pic.twitter.com/71nw001CgV
— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovakMP) November 10, 2022
Novák also spoke about the war in Ukraine which “directly affects Hungary, because there are about 150,000 Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, and more than 200 Hungarians have died in the war so far.” The president recalled that the First World War ended in national tragedy for Hungary, when it lost two-thirds of its territory. “We have learned our lesson,” she pointed out, adding that peace was needed, especially in Ukraine.
In response to questions from the university student audience, the politician gave her views on the concept of the modern woman, the environmental aspects of childbearing, the common good, and whether it is difficult to be a politician as a woman.
Later on Thursday, Novák met UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
Featured photo via Twitter/Katalin Novák