This was scarcely business as usual for a minister whose habitual obligations include dealing with rail strikes and airport meltdowns.
But Mr. Beaune, 42, has earned a reputation as an iconoclast driven by personal conviction, chief among them a passionate identification with the idea of a united Europe.
“I have a small piece of this tormented history in me, and that is the history of all Europeans,” Mr. Beaune, a man of boyish face, candid gaze and artfully unkempt beard, said in an interview.
“We are a continent of people, families and nations torn apart.
We must recall that the European Union is a daily miracle.”
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Organizations:
European
Locations:
Kyiv, Clément Beaune, Ukrainian, Odesa, France, Auschwitz, Beaune, Europe, European Union