A French student delegation whose graduating class was named in honor of martyr Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel paid tribute to his legacy during a visit to Beirut on Tuesday.

The group, named the “Bachir Gemayel Class,” visited the Kataeb Party's office in Achrafieh, where they were received by MP Nadim Gemayel and Youmna Gemayel Zaccar, head of the Bachir Gemayel Foundation.

The delegation, accompanied by members of the Kataeb Party’s Achrafieh branch, laid two wreaths at the memorial marking the site where Gemayel was assassinated in 1982, just days before he was due to take office.

“This site is not only where a crime was committed, it is a place of remembrance and a place of renewing an oath,” Nadim Gemayel told the students. “Here, Bachir fell, but hope rose stronger than hatred, greater than death. By naming your class after him, you are committing to truth, freedom, and sacrifice for the homeland.”

Describing his father as a man of principle, Gemayel said Bachir envisioned a strong, unified Lebanon, the full 10,452 square kilometers, that safeguards human dignity and individual liberty.

He quoted one of his father’s most iconic remarks: “When the West loses its values and doesn’t know where to find them, those values will be preserved in the mountains of Lebanon.”

“What we uphold here are timeless values,” he said. “Freedom, dignity, respect for life, commitment, courage, and sacrifice.”

“You didn’t come to Lebanon as tourists,” Gemayel added. “You came as witnesses. Go back to your country with a mission to bring Bachir to life through the choices you make and the principles you stand for. Say with pride, ‘We have inherited a legacy that we will carry forward.’ You are the Bachir Gemayel Class.”

Following the speech, Youmna Gemayel Zaccar presented students with books and souvenirs related to Bachir Gemayel. The group then performed a song they had prepared in his memory.

Later, the delegation visited the Saint Anthony Monastery of the Lebanese Maronite Order in Achrafieh, where they met Father Youssef Moussallem. A long-time confidant of Gemayel, Father Moussallem shared insights into Bachir’s Christian and national vision, and reflected on his evolution from militia commander to national leader.