‘The Paris ‘52 post-Olympics: Unbelievable, unbelievable — putting the most difficult obstacle right at the start ...!’ In August 1952, the cartoonist for the German satirical magazine Der Tintenfisch portrays the Saar question as the first hurdle to be cleared by ‘runners’ Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, and Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), on the hazardous route to a united Europe.

On 23 October 1954, in Paris, the French and West German Governments conclude an agreement under which the Saar is to be granted European status under the aegis of Western European Union (WEU).

On 23 October 1954, Johannes Hoffmann, Prime Minister of the Saar, delivers an address in which he welcomes the signing, in Paris, of the agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France on the future economic and political status of the Saar.

Ceremony held in Paris on 23 October 1954 for the signing of the Modified Brussels Treaty, whose provisions include the settlement of the future status of the Saar. From left to right: Konrad Adenauer, John Foster Dulles, Pierre Mendès France and Anthony Eden.

On 23 October 1954, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), France, the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Paris Agreements which provide, in particular, for the settlement of the Saar question by means of a convention between France and Germany. From left to right: Pierre Mendès France, Konrad Adenauer, Anthony Eden and John Foster Dulles.

On 25 October 1954, the regional daily newspaper Saarbrücker Zeitung welcomes the agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France on the future economic and political status of the Saar.

On 25 October 1954, the Saar Socialist daily newspaper Saar-Volksstimme für Sozialismus und Demokratie emphasises the efforts of the French and West German Governments to reach an agreement on the future Statute of the Saar.

On 26 October 1954, the Saar Communist Party fiercely criticises the agreement, signed three days earlier, between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France on the economic and political status of the Saar.

On 26 October 1954, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk outlines the nature of the difficulties faced by the West German and French authorities in arriving at an agreement on the economic and political status of the Saar.

In December 1954, the French monthly publication Reconstruction reflects on the origins of the Saar question and considers the scope of the Paris Agreements concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France on 23 October 1954.

In 1955, the Saar Chamber of Commerce analyses the effects on the regional economy of the Saar Statute, signed in Paris on 23 October 1954 by representatives of France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).