TIRANA, Oct 12 /ATA/ – Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Elisa Spiropali, hailed the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in honor of renowned Albanian writer Ismail Kadare in Paris, at 63 Boulevard Saint-Michel, the address where he wrote some of his most celebrated and timeless works.
Foreign Minister described the gesture as “France’s thank-you to the tireless fighter for a European Albania,” saying it commemorates a writer who “raised the Albanian language and nation to new heights.”
In a post on social media on Saturday, Spiropali shared excerpts from the Paris City Council meeting, during which councillor Maud Gatel proposed the initiative, praising Kadare as a major literary figure and recalling his most distinguished works.
Gatel highlighted Kadare’s iconic novel The General of the Dead Army, written at the age of 27 and translated into numerous languages, which brought him international fame. She also referred to his banned works under Albania’s communist regime and his request for political asylum in France in the early 1990s.
As president of the Modem group and former member of the Paris Parliament, Gatel presented and defended the proposal before the Council, which approved it unanimously.
Foreign Minister added that the plaque immortalizes the honor that Albania found in Kadare and his work.
“It will remind us that Kadare became Albania’s passport at a time when the country was still trapped in isolation. He stood on that pedestal even when we were misunderstood and scorned – he fought for us, even when we fought against him.”
Spiropali described Kadare as a “cultural, humanist and patriotic colossus who gave us everything and asked for nothing in return,” closing her message with gratitude: ‘Merci Paris! Merci à la France!’
The Paris City Council voted unanimously to install the plaque in honor of Kadare, who lived for many years at that address with his family and wrote some of the most memorable pages of his literary legacy.
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