The Embassy of France in Beijing (; ) is the official diplomatic mission of the

French Republic 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 ...

to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The embassy building was opened in 2011, and the current ambassador is Bertrand Lortholary.

History

Long Xinmin Affair

Since 2005,

Long Xinmin Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great time, duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music ...

has been the director general of the General Administration of Press and Publication, effectively the main person responsible for

censorship in China Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is mandated by the country's ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world. The government censors content for mainly political re ...

. He banned certain publications, such as the popular supplement of the

China Youth Daily The ''China Youth Daily'' ( zh, s=中国青年报, t=, p=) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It has been the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951. It has occasional ...

, as well as a dozen works by well-known writers. Since his arrival into this post, he had strengthened control over the media and, most particularly, blogs on the internet. On April 3, 2007, Mr. Long was knighted to be awarded the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

at the French Embassy. This award was justified as rewarding Long for his contribution towards the "Sino-French Crossover Years" (2003-2005) while in his previous post as the cultural affairs minister. A few weeks later, on April 24, 2007, Liu Binjie replaced Long Xinmin as ambassador, which allegedly because of Long's practice of banning books.

Embassy Building

The embassy is located in the Chaoyang District, the main district for embassies in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. The building also hosts a consular mission in addition to the embassy. The new embassy was opened on October 28, 2011, which was designed by the architect Alain Sarfati. It is located at the intersection of Liangmaqiao and Tianze streets and includes all the embassy services as well as the French residence. the 8-story-prominence “tower” in the center of the building is intended to give an urban dimension that integrates into the city. The garden of the residence is made up of a central lawn with two avenues of maple trees on either side.

References

External links

* {{Diplomatic missions in China

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 ...

China–France relations

History

Long Xinmin Affair

Embassy Building

See also

References

External links