On September 5, 1962, the then French President Charles de Gaulle gave his famous speech on the steps of Bonn City Hall. In front of thousands of enthusiastic Bonn residents, he invoked Franco-German cooperation with his words "Long live Bonn, long live Germany, long live Franco-German friendship", which was officially sealed with the signing of the Élysée Treaty on January 22, 1963.
De Gaulle's visit marked a decisive stage in Franco-German relations and provoked a spontaneous enthusiasm in Bonn that no one had foreseen. Hermann Kusterer wrote in his book "The Chancellor and the General": "The motorcade struggled to make its way through the crowd, which continued to swell by the minute. Not only Bonn's market square and the streets leading onto it, but also the street Am Hof running alongside the university building down to Martinsplatz by the cathedral, from where you can't even catch a glimpse of the town hall steps where de Gaulle is about to give his speech, is filled with an unmanageable, cheering, shouting crowd."
In the presence of Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the Mayor of Bonn, Dr. Wilhelm Daniels, de Gaulle spoke in German - without a manuscript and without a prompter - after signing the Golden Book of the City of Bonn. In a historical overview, he characterized Franco-German relations, which date back to the year 921, when the two West and East Franconian kings Charles III and Henry I met on a ship near Bonn to swear peace.
The French president had already landed at Wahn Airport on September 4, 1962. From there, he went straight to the Bad Godesberg Redoute. There, the French President was introduced to the diplomatic corps and signed the Golden Book of Bad Godesberg. This was followed in the evening by a state banquet at Brühl Palace with more than 2000 invited guests.
On the morning of September 5, a good two hours before the speech on the steps of Bonn City Hall, de Gaulle met Chancellor Adenauer for talks at Palais Schaumburg. They discussed Britain's accession to the European Economic Community and political cooperation in Europe. Reconciliation between the former enemies, the Germans and the French, was also important to de Gaulle. It was already clear on this day that Germany and France would become the driving forces behind developments towards a united Europe. Konrad Adenauer said at the time: "The backbone of all developments in Europe (...) is the Franco-German relationship." After his stay in Bonn, Charles de Gaulle visited the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Ludwigsburg.
