Catherine Deneuve reads Lesya Ukrainka’s poem at opening of 76th International Cannes Film Festival

Catherine Deneuve read Lesya Ukrainka’s poem “Hope” at the opening of the 76th International Cannes Film Festival, France2 reported on Twitter. Lesya Ukrainka (born Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka) is one of is one of Ukraine’s foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays.

She was also an active political, civic, and feminist activist. It’s not the first time Deneuve declared the words of Lesya Ukrainka in French. In the early stages of Russia’s full-invasion of Ukraine, the actress actively supported the Ukrainian nation.