Persian Realm

Spain's King Juan Carlos made French President Nicolas Sarkozy a Knight of the Golden Fleece on Monday for his help in fighting armed Basque separatist group ETA. King Juan Carlos said Sarkozy had been a constant ally in the battle against terrorism as he bestowed the honour on the French leader at the Royal Palace in Madrid. It should be noted that the French President's Knighthood has been overshadowed by gloomy news over France's Loss of Triple A Ratings barely 4 months before the next Presidential elections in France.

Sarkozy Knighthood coverage on Spanish TV:

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Thank You Speech by Knighted French President

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The Knight's Speech:

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AFP COVERAGE IN ENGLISH  

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France's Sarkozy becomes knight of Golden Fleece (AFP):

Spain's King Juan Carlos made French President Nicolas Sarkozy a Knight of the Golden Fleece on Monday for his help in fighting armed Basque separatist group ETA.

(NOTE: To Watch Double Click HERE)

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EL CID : The Spirit of Spanish Chivalry

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El Cid Original Trailer (1961):

Charlton Heston in the Final Scene of El Cid (1961) :

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SPANISH KNIGHTOOD FOR FRENCH PRESIDENT

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France’s Sarkozy becomes knight of Golden Fleece (AFP)

MADRID — Jan 16th, 2012 Spain’s King Juan Carlos made French President Nicolas Sarkozy a Knight of the Golden Fleece on Monday for his help in fighting armed Basque separatist group ETA.

King Juan Carlos said Sarkozy had been a constant ally in the battle against terrorism as he bestowed the honour on the French leader at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

“In your relations with Spain, you have always contributed in a constant, effective and generous manner to the fight against terrorism, always making the victims the aim and end of your solidarity,” the king said.

“You have steadily and efficiently favoured political, legal and police cooperation between our countries so as to bring an end to terrorist violence,” he said in a ceremony at the palace.

Spain credits Sarkozy with giving crucial aid in the fight against ETA, both as president and previously when he was French interior minister from 2002-2004 and 2005-2007. Spanish and French police cooperate closely in hunting ETA outlaws, who had once seen France as a safe haven.

Only on Saturday, French police arrested three suspected ETA members near Auxerre in eastern France.

ETA announced on October 20 last year the end of more than 40 years of shootings and bombings that killed 829 people.

Its operations have been hammered by Spanish police working closely with France.

At the end of the speech, the king pinned the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece on Sarkozy’s blue suit.

Spain’s highest chivalric honour, the Order of the Golden Fleece was created in 1430 by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, at the time of his marriage to Princess Isabella of Portugal.

After lunch at the palace with the king, Sarkzoy is to hold talks with Spain’s new conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, with Europe’s economic woes on the menu.

They meet just three days after Standard and Poor’s cut its rating of nine debt-laden European countries, including stripping France of its top-class AAA rating and slashing Spain’s rating by two notches.

Spain’s government, which is battling to trim a bulging public deficit and regain battered market confidence, says plans to reform European Union treaties will be a key part of the Spain-France talks.

“Sometimes rivals, sometimes allies, France and Spain, Spain and France are today happily brothers who fight together for the progress of a united, prosperous and caring Europe that resolutely confronts the crisis,” the king said as he conferred the honour on Sarkozy.

“We are committed to Euope and we are very conscious of the fundamental importance of Hispano-Franco cooperation in European integration in all its facets and dimensions.”

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C’EST MOI

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Franco Nero as Sir Lancelot in the Arthurian Musical Camelot (1967):

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