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As Paris braces to host the Olympic Games this year, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for unity in his New Year's Eve Address, according to German media publication DW.
Speaking from the Elysee Palace, Macron had the Olympic nation's flags behind him as he delivered his address. Macron pledged the nation's "rearmament" on the civic and economic fronts. He said that people would be asked to decide between "continuing Europe or blocking it" in the EU parliament elections in June, according to DW. "We will have to make the choice of a stronger, more sovereign Europe in the light of the legacy of Jacques Delors," the French President said. "My dear compatriots, Year of determination, choice, regeneration, pride and hope, 2024 will be a French vintage. I wish you a beautiful and happy new year. Long live the Republic, long live France!" Macron posted on X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1741577415342596521?s=20 Paris, along with other major countries like Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Berlin, and Taiwan, ring in 2024 on Monday. Taiwan welcomed the New Year with fireworks. Meanwhile, huge fireworks displays were used to celebrate the beginning of the new year in Greece, Germany, and France. However, because of a number of ongoing conflicts, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, celebrations are likely going to be subdued in several parts of the globe. Over a million people celebrated the New Year on Sunday night amid stunning fireworks displays, illuminating the skies over Australia's Sydney Harbour and New Zealand's tallest structure, the Sky Tower in Auckland. The countdown commenced against an illuminated digital display near the top of the 328-metre (1,076-foot) communications and observation tower, Al Jazeera reported. As the clock struck midnight in Australia's largest city, Sydney, a 12-minute fireworks display erupted around the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The small Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati had ushered in the New Year an hour earlier. Notably, Kiribati, an island nation with 33 atolls, became the first place to bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the new year 2024 as the International Date Line loops around Kiribati's easternmost islands. (ANI)
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