11 June 2024
An official visit of the Ambassador of France, Hélène Duchêne, is taking place this week from the evening of Monday 10 June to Wednesday 12 June.
This will be Ambassador Duchêne's first official visit to Jersey since her appointment in 2022. In this 120th anniversary year of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France, Jersey is the perfect place to celebrate this milestone in Franco-British relations.
Ambassador Duchêne is an experienced career diplomat with a distinguished record at the French Foreign Ministry at the Quai d'Orsay. Her visit will be the first made by a French Ambassador to Jersey since May 2016.
The agenda for Ambassador Duchêne's visit on Tuesday 11 June includes a series of high-level meetings with Jersey Ministers and senior officials, focusing on education, culture, connectivity, and economic links. During her visit, the Ambassador will also meet Jersey's Lieutenant-Governor, His Excellency Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd CBE.
The Ambassador will also have the opportunity to sample a unique Jersey-France dish created as a collaboration between Franco-British Young Leader Gregory Cuilleron and Joe Baker at Petchi. Additionally, she will tour Mont Orgueil Castle on Tuesday afternoon and attend an official dinner hosted by the Bailiff on Tuesday evening.
Ambassador Duchêne's involvement in the recent D-Day commemoration, including her attendance at the Portsmouth ceremony on 5 June, highlights her commitment to commemorating historical ties.
This visit represents an important milestone in reinforcing the deep cultural and historical bonds between Jersey and France, and in fostering ongoing and future co-operation between the two neighbours. During her visit, the Ambassador will tour the Entente Cordiale exhibition at the Société Jersiaise on Tuesday morning.
Commenting on the Ambassador's visit, Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst said: “I am delighted to welcome Her Excellency, Hélène Duchêne, to Jersey. Our rich history of cultural and people to people links means that France will always be one of Jersey's closest partners as well as our closest neighbour. This visit is an opportunity to remember our shared past and discuss how we can co-operate even more closely in the future, especially in areas such as renewable energy, education, and trade.
As we celebrate 120 years of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France, what better place to highlight this enduring relationship and look to the future than Jersey."
The Ministers who Ambassador Duchêne will meet with during her visit are the Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham; the Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst; the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, and the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce.
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