“Today, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of France, J. Marchais, visited the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu.A. Gagarin. For us, this visit involves a new and very large amount of work with the French. In December, recruitment for the cosmonaut corps was announced in France. One of those selected will fly to the Soviet orbital station. And this is a precise and clear agreement between the leaders of our countries. Requirements for applicants: age from 25 to 45 years, higher education, professional work experience of at least two years, weight no more than 82 kg, sitting height no more than 95 cm. That’s all for now, what is known. France already conducted a similar selection in 1977. Then the United States proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) to select three experimental cosmonauts to serve the Spacelab unit being launched into orbit by the American Space Shuttle. The selection was accompanied by a noisy campaign in the press and on television in Europe. Ultimately, three people were selected from 12 participating countries, but there was no Frenchman among them. The Americans have not flown since 1975 and still have not even tested their MTKK. Naturally, European representatives have not yet begun preparations. And the French decided to go their own way. Our proposals were specific. Orbital station in orbit. Spaceships fly. We are ready to accept the French for training at any time...”