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STRASBOURG, July 1-- Gathering in honor of one of the forces behind a unified Europe, European and world leaders paid homage Saturday in France's Strasbourg to Helmut Kohl, former German Chancellor and honorary citizen of Europe, who died in Germany on June 16. In a ceremony held in the hemicycle of the European parliament, chosen for its symbolic role in the reconstruction of Franco-German friendship and European solidarity in the wake of two world wars, Kohl was saluted by fellow heads of state and friends. The event was opened with remarks from European Parliament President Antonio Trajani, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Council President Donald Tusk. Former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, former United States President Bill Clinton, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke during the ceremony. Other notable attendees included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, British Prime Minister Theresa May, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Maike Kohl-Richter, widow of Helmut Kohl, was also in attendance. Kohl, who was German chancellor from 1982 to 1998 and chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998, was credited by his friends and former colleagues as being a driving force behind German reunification and the European project. | 
