| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The outstanding endeavors of the Consulate General |
|
|
of France in Houston serve to strengthen the meaningful connections |
|
|
with Texas that have spanned many centuries; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 1685, famed French explorer René-Robert |
|
|
Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, landed at present-day Matagorda Bay |
|
|
and built the Fort St. Louis stockade; the settlement was |
|
|
short-lived, but in 1818, a friend of Napoleon Bonaparte, General |
|
|
Charles Francois Antoine Lallemand, brought a band of army veterans |
|
|
to establish Champ d'Asile on thinly populated Spanish territory |
|
|
near modern Liberty; Spain did not take kindly to the incursion, but |
|
|
the brief French presence helped to define the Sabine River as the |
|
|
border between Louisiana and Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, France was the second country to recognize the |
|
|
Republic of Texas as a sovereign nation, and the two countries |
|
|
signed a commercial treaty in 1839 and opened their respective |
|
|
legations in Austin and Paris; in the following decade, more than |
|
|
2,000 French Alsatians flocked to Castroville under the leadership |
|
|
of banker Henri Castro, and across the state, French Catholic |
|
|
missionaries developed schools and hospitals; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Favorable relations continued after Texas entered |
|
|
the Union and have flourished through the years; our economies |
|
|
benefit by the dynamism of imports and exports, totaling $15.6 |
|
|
billion in 2022, making France our state's 14th-largest trade |
|
|
partner; in the last decade, French companies reported more than 80 |
|
|
investment projects in Texas; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Led since 2021 by Consul General Valérie Baraban, |
|
|
the Consulate General of France in Houston provides services to |
|
|
French citizens living in the Lone Star State; it also promotes |
|
|
French business, science, and technology and fosters language |
|
|
learning and cultural appreciation through its Villa Albertine in |
|
|
Texas program; in 2024, it partnered in the creation of the |
|
|
French-American Cultural Foundation; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The friendship between France and Texas has long |
|
|
been a driver of prosperity and a source of vibrant cultural |
|
|
enrichment, and the efforts of the Consulate General of France in |
|
|
Houston continue to invigorate this multifaceted and mutually |
|
|
valuable exchange; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor the Consulate General of France in Houston |
|
|
for its contributions and recognize the enduring bonds between |
|
|
France and Texas; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the consulate as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |