French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday declared April 24 as Armenian Genocide commemoration day in France, Euronews reported.

Macron told an annual dinner of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France that France was among the first nations to denounce “the murderous hunt of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire.”

He noted that ever since 1915, France calls genocide a crime against humanity and civilization.

“The history of French Armenians is the history of France,” Macron said. “And since the Armenian Genocide is part of our recollections, the recollection of Armenian Genocide shall be honored in our republic, too. Together with you, I, too, will fight as much as I can against any manifestation of denial, which disrespects the memory of the victims and the dignity of the living.”

France officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2001.

The Armenian Genocide issue that has caused regular friction between Turkey and European Union member states.