The Ambassador of Mauritius in France, His Excellency Mr. Vijayen Valaydon, was in Saint-Malo this week, to commemorate the tricentenary of the arrival of the French in Mauritius.
In this context, several activities were organized by the Association of Friends of Mahé de La Bourdonnais, including a conference by Dr. Gilles Foucqueron, on ‘The French in Mauritius’. In this context, several activities were organized by the Association of the Friends of Mahé de La Bourdonnais, including a conference by Dr. Gilles Foucqueron, on ‘Garnier du Fougeray and the Isle of France’ on Wednesday, August 18, and horse races at the Saint-Malo racecourse with the awarding of the Mauritius Turf Club Prize, the Robert Surcouf Prize, and the Grand Prix Hippique Mahé de La Bourdonnais, on Thursday, August 19, in the presence of Ambassador Valaydon and the President of the Société des Courses de Saint-Malo, Mr. Gilles Caroff.
On the same occasion, Ambassador Valaydon and the Mayor of Saint-Malo, Mr. Gilles Lurton, laid wreaths on the roundabout of Mauritius in front of the statue of Mahé de la Bourdonnais.
In his speech, the Mauritian ambassador recalled that we commemorate this year, the tercentenary of the arrival and settlement of the French in Mauritius, and more specifically the arrival of the Malouins.everything began with Guillaume Dufresne d’Arsel, then there was Garnier du Fougeray with whom began the colonization of Mauritius, then the Isle of France, he said.
“We then knew the passage of Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the first builder of the city of Port Louis, capital of Mauritius. He was also the one who launched the cultivation of sugar cane in Mauritius, with the construction of the first sugar mill in Villebague in the Pamplemousses area. It was Mahé de La Bourdonnais who had built Port Louis and then the Government House”, said Mr. Valaydon.
He made a point of pointing out that all these personalities who marked the history of Mauritius at the very beginning, Guillaume Dufresne d’Arsel, Garnier du Fougeray, Mahé de La Bourdonnais, without forgetting Robert Surcouf, were originally from Saint-Malo.
Ambassador Valaydon added that this year we also celebrate the 21st anniversary of the twinning of the city of St. Malo and the city of Port Louis, as we commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the twinning of the Champ de Mars racecourse and that of St. Malo.
