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French President Emmanuel Macron has declared April 24 as a national day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Macron announced his decision on Tuesday while speaking to the Armenian community at a dinner in Paris.

"France is, first and foremost, the country that knows how to look history in the face, which was among the first to denounce the killing of the Armenian people, which in 1915 named genocide for what it was, which in 2001 after a long struggle recognised it in law,” France 24 quoted him as saying.

France "will in the next weeks make April 24 a national day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide," he added

Macron's remarks at the dinner, organised by the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organisations of France, honoured a campaign promise from his election in 2017.

In his speech he called for "the citizens of tomorrow to be fully aware of the truths of the past" and protested against all forms of denial.

Macron also took to Twitter to announce the decision on declaring April 24 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

France in January 2001 became one of the first major European country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

La France regarde l’Histoire en face.
Comme je m’y suis engagé, dans les prochaines semaines, la France fera du 24 avril une journée de commémoration du génocide arménien.https://t.co/NjGIO3LDrZ

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 5, 2019