Embassy of France in Washington
Encyclopedia
The Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. is the primary French diplomatic mission to the United States
.
It is located at 4101 Reservoir Road, Northwest, Washington, D.C., just north of Georgetown University
. The embassy opened in 1984. With some 400 staffers, it is France's
largest foreign embassy. The embassy represents the interests of France and French citizens in the United States and conducts the majority of diplomatic work on such interests within the USA.
. The French ambassador's residence is located in the Sheridan-Kalorama
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The building served as the French chancery from 1936–1985.
In addition to the standard diplomatic facilities, the compound has La Maison Française a cultural facility consisting of an auditorium, ballroom, and exhibition hall. Like many embassies, it regularly hosts events for the general public including concerts (e.g. baroque, classical, jazz, contemporary, pop and alternative music), cinéma, dance, exhibitions, lectures and theatre.
The Chancery has attaches based in each of the ten regional consulates.
These offices promote cooperation between the two countries on military and defence matters. The primary responsibility of the former is to facilitate liaison between the two government departments and the two nations' militaries, while latter oversees cooperation on matters of armaments and has responsibility for arms spending in the US as well as working with the US to develop new military technology. Both offices have a role to play in keeping the ambassador abreast of current defence issues and advising the Pentagon
on French defence policy.
in Manhattan
, New York City
. Its responsibility is in facilitating "cultural exchange" between the two nations, a role that can be creative, informative or merely administrative. The duties if the service include promoting French creative works in cultural and academic institutions across France, with the help of the attaches in regional consulates.
OS&T is an active, reactive and proactive observer of the scientific activity, of technological innovations and their impacts on the US society and beyond. OS&T headquarters are at the Embassy in Washington D.C., and teams at French consulates in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco. OS&T operates in close contact with French research agencies, universities and engineering schools, competitiveness clusters, ... Follow OS&T activities on: France-Science.Org
, the Department of the Treasury
and French and American financial institution
s. Its role is in developing French economic policy in conjunction with those bodies and in explaining those policies to the United States. It has two offices, one in the embassy and a second in New York, from where it can work with Wall Street
in order to better develop monetary policy.
is also ultimately responsible for the 10 regional consulates:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It is located at 4101 Reservoir Road, Northwest, Washington, D.C., just north of Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. The embassy opened in 1984. With some 400 staffers, it is France's
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
largest foreign embassy. The embassy represents the interests of France and French citizens in the United States and conducts the majority of diplomatic work on such interests within the USA.
Structure
The embassy is headed by the French Ambassador to the United States, currently François DelattreFrançois Delattre
François Delattre is the Ambassador of the Republic of France to the United States. He was appointed Ambassador in February 2011.-Career:He graduated from Sciences Po and ENA with a degree in international law....
. The French ambassador's residence is located in the Sheridan-Kalorama
Kalorama, Washington, D.C.
The Kalorama area within the Northwest Quadrangle of Washington, D.C., includes two adjacent, quite affluent historical residential neighborhoods, Kalorama Triangle and Sheridan-Kalorama. The area is accessible from the Dupont Circle and Woodley Park Metro stations, as well as various bus lines...
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The building served as the French chancery from 1936–1985.
In addition to the standard diplomatic facilities, the compound has La Maison Française a cultural facility consisting of an auditorium, ballroom, and exhibition hall. Like many embassies, it regularly hosts events for the general public including concerts (e.g. baroque, classical, jazz, contemporary, pop and alternative music), cinéma, dance, exhibitions, lectures and theatre.
Services
The embassy operates several services and offices, responsible for different areas of policy and liaising with the relevant American bodies, the most notable of whom are listed below.Chancery
The Chancery is the main diplomatic and political body. It is responsible for coordination with the American government on matters, particularly foreign policy, that affect France, however, the majority of the diplomacy is conducted by the ambassador, leaving the chancery to liaise with the French government and coordinate with the Press Service in matters of public policy. The diplomats of the chancery take responsibility for a specific policy area and may stand in for the ambassador in his absence.The Chancery has attaches based in each of the ten regional consulates.
Press and Communications Office
The Press Service is responsible for the publication of the embassy's newsletter and magazine, as well as coordinating press releases and conferences, including the provision of designated spokesmen. The office also monitors American press coverage of issues pertaining to France and reports back to the ambassador and to Paris.The Offices of the Defence and Armament Attaches
These offices promote cooperation between the two countries on military and defence matters. The primary responsibility of the former is to facilitate liaison between the two government departments and the two nations' militaries, while latter oversees cooperation on matters of armaments and has responsibility for arms spending in the US as well as working with the US to develop new military technology. Both offices have a role to play in keeping the ambassador abreast of current defence issues and advising the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
on French defence policy.
The Cultural Service
The Cultural Services of the embassy is located at 972 Fifth Avenue972 Fifth Avenue
The Payne Whitney house is a historic building at 972 Fifth Avenue at 79th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Stanford White and is considered one of that great architect's finest mature works...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its responsibility is in facilitating "cultural exchange" between the two nations, a role that can be creative, informative or merely administrative. The duties if the service include promoting French creative works in cultural and academic institutions across France, with the help of the attaches in regional consulates.
The Office of Science and Technology
The Office of Science and Technology (OS&T) is tasked to:- promote the French S&T with US actors, and with science expats, by organizing events, by publishing local or topical newsletters, outreach activities;
- watch and report science breakthroughs, investments and innovations in key domains, by networking with Academia, R&D agencies, associations, Congress, think-tanks etc.;
- build or sustain scientific partnerships, by organising visits of experts, seminars, by promoting annual calls of the French-US joint endowments and funds;
- foster doctoral mobility of students and researchers, in particular with our flagship program Chateaubriand .
OS&T is an active, reactive and proactive observer of the scientific activity, of technological innovations and their impacts on the US society and beyond. OS&T headquarters are at the Embassy in Washington D.C., and teams at French consulates in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco. OS&T operates in close contact with French research agencies, universities and engineering schools, competitiveness clusters, ... Follow OS&T activities on: France-Science.Org
The Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs
This is the office primarily concerned with maintaining and developing new trade links between the countries. For example, it assists French businesses trying to establish themselves in the USA and vice versa. It also continues businesses, large and small, which have long since established themselves in the American market by providing support and advice on economic and trade policies, both within the US and in France.The French Treasury Office
This office represents the French Treasury in the United States and Canada. It works in close partnership with the Federal ReserveFederal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
, the Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
and French and American financial institution
Financial institution
In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...
s. Its role is in developing French economic policy in conjunction with those bodies and in explaining those policies to the United States. It has two offices, one in the embassy and a second in New York, from where it can work with Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
in order to better develop monetary policy.
Consulates
The ambassadorAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
is also ultimately responsible for the 10 regional consulates:
- Consulate General of France in Boston representing the far North- Eastern states
- Consulate General of France in New York for New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately... - Consulate General of France in Washington for DC and surrounding states
- Consulate General of France in AtlantaConsulate General of France in AtlantaThe Consulate General of France in Atlanta is the French diplomatic outpost to the South-eastern US states, serving the six states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The role of the consulate is to serve the interests of France and French people in the...
for the South-Eastern states - Consulate General of France in MiamiConsulate General of France in MiamiThe Consulate General of France in Miami is the French diplomatic outpost in Florida. Under the leadership of the Consul-General, Gaël de Maisonneuve, it represents the interests of France and French People in the state, as well as providing a point of contact for French citizens and expatriates.It...
for FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... - Consulate General of France in New Orleans for LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
- General Consulate of France in Houston for TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River... - Consulate General of France in Chicago covering the largest number of states, representing the North and West
- Consulate General of France in San Francisco for the South- West, including the northern halves of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its... - Consulate General of France in Los Angeles Covering the remaining south-western states and the remainder of California and Nevada
See also
- List of diplomatic missions of France
- Consulate General of France in AtlantaConsulate General of France in AtlantaThe Consulate General of France in Atlanta is the French diplomatic outpost to the South-eastern US states, serving the six states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The role of the consulate is to serve the interests of France and French people in the...
- France – United States relations