Arshak Chopanyan`s memorial plaque unveiled in Paris

ArmInfo. In the 9th arrondissement of Paris, at 9 rue Jean-Baptiste Say, a ceremonial unveiling of a  plaque dedicated to the memory of Arshak Chopanyan took place. Chopanyan was an Armenian intellectual, a pioneer of the pro-Armenian movement in France, as well as poet and literary critic.  As reported by the press service of the Armenian Embassy in France,  Arshak Chopanyan lived for many years in this historical district of  Paris.

During the event, the Ambassador of Armenia to France Arman  Khachatryan, the Mayor of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Delphine  Berkley, the Deputy Mayor of Paris for Memory and Veterans, Laurence  Patrice, and the President of the Arshak Chopanyan Institute, Jean  Sirapian, made a speech.

The Armenian Ambassador expressed gratitude for the initiative aimed  at perpetuating the memory of the Armenian intellectual. Khachatryan  emphasized the important role of  Chopanyan in the emergence of the  pro-Armenian movement in France at the end of the 19th century,  following the massacres of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire.  The movement was supported by  prominent representatives of the  French intellectual and political elite such as Anatole France, Jean  Jaures, Romain Rolland, Charles Peguin, Georges Clemenceau and  others. He also highlighted the significance of  the memorial plaque  being unveiled in the historic Armenian quarter of Paris, which,  through its vibrancy, was instrumental  in influencing  a new  generation of Armenian intellectuals from the 1920s onwards,  including Arshak Chopanyan.