The Embassy of France in Tunis () is France's diplomatic mission to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

History

Léon Roches, French consul general in Tunis from 1855 to 1863, was granted the palatial complex of in

La Marsa La Marsa ( ') is a coastal city located in the northeastern part of Tunisia, situated along the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Tunis Governorate and has a population of around 100,000 people. The city is known for its beaches, upscale resid ...

as his residence in 1857. Following an agreement with

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

Muhammad VI al-Habib in December 1859, he directed the construction of a large consulate building on the western approach to the

Medina of Tunis The Medina of Tunis is the medina quarter of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from ...

, designed by engineer Philippe Caillat and inaugurated on . At the time, there were few buildings outside of the old city's walls. The new building replaced the older French consulate building inside the Medina, which as of 2017 was still extant albeit in disrepair. Following the

French conquest of Tunisia The French conquest of Tunisia occurred in two phases in 1881: the first (28 April – 12 May) consisting of the invasion and securing of the country before the signing of a treaty of protection, and the second (10 June – 28 October) consistin ...

in 1881, the complex became the seat of the

resident-general A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

, the de facto governor of the

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...

. In the 1890s, the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Vincent de Paul was built across the thoroughfare (now

Avenue Habib Bourguiba Avenue Habib Bourguiba () is the central thoroughfare of Tunis, and the historical political and economic heart of Tunisia. It is named for Habib Bourguiba, the first President of Tunisia and the national leader of the Tunisian independence movemen ...

) from the Residency. In 1904, the two pavilions flanking the entrance were rebuilt on a larger scale, after which the compound's layout has remained largely unchanged. Following

Tunisian independence Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and an independence movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully bro ...

in 1956, it was repurposed as the

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

of the newly established embassy. The square in front of the building, formerly known as the , was promptly renamed ("Independence Square").

Notes

{{France diplomatic missions

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

France–Tunisia relations

History

See also

Notes