Sailors on parade for visit of French president
Standing proud on the deck of their ship overlooking Portsmouth harbour, these sailors are preparing to parade before the French president today.
A troop of sailors journeyed from Portsmouth to London to mark Nicolas Sarkozy's two-day visit to the UK.
The French anti-submarine frigate Latouche-Treville arrived in Portsmouth naval base yesterday as part of the president's entourage.
This morning the sailors travelled to Carlton Gardens, near Whitehall, where Mr Sarkozy and his new wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni were due to lay a wreath and observe a minute's silence at the statue of General Charles de Gaulle.
Yesterday, their captain, Vincent Liot de Nortbecourt, in full uniform, visited the Lord Mayor's parlour at Portsmouth's Guildhall, a tradition for seamen visiting a foreign port.
Lord Mayor Mike Blake said: 'He was last in Portsmouth 12 years ago and was happy to be back and to see the changes that have occurred since – like the Spinnaker Tower.'
The Latouche-Treville will return to Brest on Monday.
The full article contains 177 words and appears in NS-City newspaper.
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Last Updated:
27 March 2008 8:51 AM
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Source:
NS-City
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Location:
Portsmouth
