Welcome!

I arrived in Paris in February. I have already found this to be one of the most fascinating and rewarding jobs that I have ever had.

Britain and France have ties that are both deep and broad. The two Governments work together on a huge range of issues from foreign policy and defence, to nuclear energy, climate change and counter-terrorism. But the links go far beyond that. British people pay over 19 million visits to France every year. We are major commercial partners. Many of our towns and cities are twinned. We cooperate (and compete!) in the worlds of education, culture, food, fashion and many others. So it is a very rich relationship.

The way the British Government operates in France is also changing. At a time of budget pressure, we have introduced new ways of delivering Consular services to British nationals. We are intensifying our commercial work; and our colleagues at the British Council are expanding their presence in France with new operations in Lyon and Marseille.

The Government has set three goals for Britain’s foreign policy: safeguarding our security, increasing our prosperity and supporting our nationals abroad. Our work in and with France has a real impact on all three goals.

Our work is so varied that I thought I should do a short video about once a fortnight to tell you more about our activities. Since I hope this will also be of interest to a French audience, I will also record these videos in French.