Romania's President Nicusor Dan participated on Saturday in events marking 167 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities, held in Focsani, in an atmosphere marked by sharp contrasts: enthusiasm and emotion at the Unirea National College and booing in Union Square, the symbolic site of the events of 1859.

The head of state began the day at the 'Unirea' National College in Focsani, where he presented the school's management with the 'Merit for Education' Order in the rank of Commander, on the occasion of the institution's 160th anniversary. The visit took place in a packed hall and the President was welcomed with applause and ovations from pupils and teachers, in a solemn and warm setting dominated by speeches about education, values and the future. At the end of the official speeches, the President spent almost an hour answering questions from pupils.

The atmosphere changed in Union Square, where some of the participants booed Nicusor Dan and the authorities present, including during the performance of the National Anthem. In this context, Nicusor Dan chose to respond directly to the reactions from the crowd, underlining the democratic nature of expressing dissatisfaction but also the responsibility that accompanies this right.

'Look at who the people in whom you place your hopes are. Do not think only about the first step. Think about the second step as well. You have a responsibility to yourselves. You have a responsibility to your children, you have a responsibility to the whole of Romania,' Nicusor Dan said in the address delivered in the square.

During the President's speech, Alliance for Romanians' Union (AUR) MP George Badiu left the ranks of the officials, a gesture noticed by the public and by the other participants in the ceremony.

Against the background of tensions in the square, President of the Vrancea County Council Nicusor Halici focused his speech on the idea of collective responsibility and the need for unity, appealing to the memory of the sacrifices that made the Union possible.

'If for our forefathers the Union was an ideal and an objective for which they sacrificed lives, families and destinies, for us today it must be a responsibility. We have the responsibility to remain united. Are we dissatisfied? We say so. Politely, civilly and with alternatives? Do we fall prey to division? Then we do nothing but mock the entire sacrifice, memory and legacy left to us by our predecessors. That is why I invite you to calm, to building and above all to unity. Do not let yourselves be manipulated by interests that have coexisted over all the resources this country has had for millennia, because otherwise we will be doomed to perish. Let us rediscover ourselves, let us reunite around the best ideas and solutions for the present and especially for the future,' Halici said.

In turn, Mayor of Focsani Cristi Misaila delivered a message oriented towards the future, launching the idea of a new national project.

'Today, in Focsani, another moment is recorded that will remain in history. It is the first visit of a President of Romania who crosses the Milcov on a motorway! (...) And because dreams become reality when people believe in them but there is also the political will needed to put them into practice, as Mayor of the City of the Union I want to propose to you, Mr President, a new national project for us to work on. In the current geopolitical context, you have the historic opportunity to bring to the same table all political parties, representatives of civil society and representatives of all important structures of the Romanian state in order to outline the Romania 2050 project. A national project in which we can include our common interests: European integration and the democratic return of the Republic of Moldova to the mother country, as well as the establishment of future strategic projects in education, health, the economy and defence, so that the future finds us together, stronger,' Cristi Misaila said.

The Mayor of Focsani invited the President to return to the city together with President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, on the occasion of 'a future symbolic moment.'

'I propose that at a symbolic moment, either on 1 December 2026 or, why not, on 24 January 2027, you come to Focsani together with the President of Moldova, Her Excellency Maia Sandu, and together we assume the Romania 2050 national project, a pact that would attest to the agreement of all political forces on both banks of the Prut,' Misaila said.

At the end of the official events, Nicusor Dan joined hands in the Hora Unirii (Union ring dance, ed. n.) together with pupils, officials and ordinary people, then remained among the participants for more than 15 minutes to take photographs, to the delight of dozens of young people who wanted to capture the moment.

From Focsani, the head of state continued his trip to Iasi, where he is attending events dedicated to the Day of the Union of the Romanian Principalities.

The events in Focsani were also attended by Minister of National Defence Radu Daniel Miruta, as well as numerous mayors, local and county councillors and other representatives of local and county public authorities. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Dana Lepadatu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)