17/07/2026
Our very first Bastille Day reception at the new French Embassy in Georgetown! 🇫🇷 🇬🇾 🌞
It was a great joy 🎉 🥳 this year to host our very first Bastille Day reception at the new Residence of France in Georgetown 🎆 My sincere thanks to the 200 guests and friends who joined us for this special occasion.
We were delighted to celebrate with HE Hon. Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips and HE Hon. Hugh Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. We were also pleased to welcome Hon. Manzoor Nadir, Speaker of National Assembly, together with several Members of Parliament. A number of Cabinet members joined us in celebrating the friendship between France and Guyana, including HE Hon. Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, and HE the Honourable Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC MP, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.
My sincere thanks to everyone who attended, to Guyana's vibrant civil society and its representatives from the private sector, and to our friends from the diplomatic corps.
I would like to extend a special and warm thank you to Ambassador Pierantoni, EU Ambassador at the Delegation of the European Union in Guyana, who kindly opened the speeches. France is proud of its European identity and of working here to strengthen our ties with Guyana and CARICOM. Grazie, Luca! 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 🇬🇾 🌞
France is equally proud to celebrate its Caribbean heritage and identity, as CTG Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane and CTM Collectivité Territoriale de Martinique have recently been admitted as Associate Members of CARICOM: Caribbean Community.
I also had the great honour of presenting distinctions to two of our fellow French citizens, in the presence of Brigadier Omar Khan, Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of the Guyana Defence Force : Mr Jean-François Gerin, who was appointed a Knight of the National Order of Merit, former Honorary Consul of France in Georgetown and French Foreign Trade Adviser; and Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Rigault, Troupes de Marine (“Marine Corps”), our Defence Attaché based at Mdd Paramaribo. 🎖️
My thanks go to all those who work every day to strengthen the relationship between France and Guyana, to the Alliance Francaise of Guyana, to the French Foreign Trade Advisers of the CARICOM Group, and to our partners from Guyana's private sector.
Brie, Camembert, Comté, Cantal and Saint-Nectaire 🧀 🐄 were also invited, although they did not stay for very long. Naturally, the Champagne bubbles 🍾 🥂 did not linger for long, before making way for wines 🍷 from across our French regions, with Martinique rum 🥃 taking centre stage.
To defy defeat on the football pitch, we rounded off the evening in high spirits, with music and dancing, from the accordion to the French Touch, brilliantly led by the wonderful Dj Akelo teddy bear 🎹 🎧 🎶 🪗
My heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, to my team, who have put so much into making this evening possible over the past few months, and to each and every one of you ❣️
« Vive la République ! Vive la France ! »
