DAYS OF CROATIAN CULTURE START IN FRANCE

PARIS, Dec 11 (Hina) - An exhibition entitled "Croatia Through Stamps" was opened within the Days of Croatian Culture in the French province Picardy on Saturday. The mayor of Coucy le Chateau, Jacques Pinaud, who opened the exhibition together with Croatia's Ambassador in UNESCO, Vesna Girardi Jurkic, called on the gathered to pay tribute to the deceased Croatian President Franjo Tudjman with a minute of silence. Pinaud asked Ambassador Girardi Jurkic to convey his deepest sympathies to Croatian state officials and the people of Croatia for the loss of their president, who, he said, was "the architect of the Croatian state and made the centuries-long aspirations of the Croatian people a reality". The exhibition presents the entire collection of postal stamps the Croatian Post has issued since the establishment of Croatia's independence. The Days of Croatian Culture in Coucy de Chateau, a town situated some 100 km north-east of Paris, have been organised for the second year through cooperation between the municipal authorities, Croatia's permanent representation in UNESCO and a local French- Croatian friendship society. (hina) rml