The Former French Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault visits Liverpool

THE former French Prime Minister (2012 to 2014) Jean Marc Ayrault has been in Liverpool, looking at how the City commemorates the slave trade and celebrates Black history. Monsieur Ayrault's visit is because he is now the Chair of a new French Foundation For The Memory Of Slavery, or in French:- 'Foundation Pour La Memoire De L'esclavage,' and as a result he had been invited to Liverpool by Mayor Joe Anderson. Also, Monsieur Ayrault was also the former Mayor of Nantes that is twinned with Liverpool.

On Tuesday, 9 July 2019 we joined Monsieur Ayrault and his team visited Princes Park to look at the site where a permanent memorial to Nelson Mandela. The memorial will also include a new 'Freedom Bridge,' a pavilion and 32 cylindrical stoneworks, all inscribed with inspirational Mandela quotes. The pedestals represent the oil drums that Mandela used as an allotment to grow plants on the rooftop of Pollsmoor Prison.

Walking around the Park, Monsieur Ayrault along with the delegation from Foundation Pour La Memoire De L'esclavage talked to members of The Friends of Princes Park and representatives of Liverpool City Council, who are involved with the 'Freedom Bridge' project. The former French Prime Minister commented that his is "very interested in this work" and admires the way Liverpool has shown its remorse for the City's role in Britain's part of the transatlantic slave trade. He appears to be especially interested in the way Liverpool now celebrates Black culture and its multi ethnic communities. A member of his team said:- "Liverpool's people are tremendously diverse; a lot can be learned from your approach."

The video footage shows Monsieur Ayrault and the French delegation being shown around Princes Park's Lake and the location of the 'Freedom Bridge.'