The Embassy of France in Cambodia (; ) is the primary

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

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

Kingdom of Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline along the Gulf of Thail ...

. It is located in the capital

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

. It is known for the role it played as a place of refuge for foreigners and at-risk Cambodians after the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

takeover for several days until foreigners were forced to go to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

while the regime forced Cambodians to stay in the country.

History

Until Cambodia's independence from France in 1953, the colonial power was represented in Phnom Penh by a high commissioner, who used a hotel that was purposely built for these activities which was partially funded through the local administrative budget of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. After independence, the Cambodian government requested that it take ownership of the hotel, and in 1955, an agreement was produced that granted 4.8 hectares of land and leftover assets from the loan used to build the hotel in exchange for the property. The following year, M. Pierre Dafau was chosen to build the embassy complex, with France allocating 250 million francs to the project. Construction started in 1958 and ended in 1961. According to prominent Sangkum-era politician

Nhiek Tioulong Nhiek Tioulong (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; 23 August 1908 – 9 June 1996) was a Cambodian army officer, politician, and actor who served as Acting Prime Minister of Cambo ...

, the embassy's Technical Cooperation Services department helped build infrastructure as part of a larger French technical aid program.

Fall of Phnom Penh and suspension of relations (1975-1991)

By March 1975, the embassy had already ceased operations due to the expectation of a

takeover. After the

fall of Phnom Penh The Fall of Phnom Penh was the capture of Phnom Penh, capital of the Khmer Republic (in present-day Cambodia), by the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, effectively ending the Cambodian Civil War. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of th ...

on 17 April, the new government did not allow France, as well as most other countries with the exception of a few allies, mostly communist states, to reopen its embassy. However, the embassy remained staffed, led by vice-consul Jean Dyrac, and would become a space of refuge for 600 foreigners and 1,000 Cambodians during and shortly after the battle. By April 26, almost all Cambodians has been forced out, with only foreign journalists and diplomats as well as Cambodian women with a foreign husband remaining and supply aircraft not being allowed to fly in.

Dith Pran Dith Pran (; September 23, 1942 – March 30, 2008) was a Cambodian-American photojournalist. He was a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian genocide and the subject of the film '' The Killing Fields'' (1984). Early life Dith was born in S ...

and

Sydney Schanberg Sydney Hillel Schanberg (January 17, 1934 July 9, 2016) was an American journalist who was best known for his coverage of the war in Cambodia. He was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two George Polk awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, ...

, who would later document the extent of the

Cambodian genocide The Cambodian genocide was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly 25% of Cambodia's populati ...

, stayed in the embassy along with other refugees; Schanberg stated that the Cambodians were made to leave in two waves, with some (including Pran) being allowed to secretly flee on 18 April and 600 others were handed over to Khmer Rouge authorities on 21 April. The treatment and eviction of Cambodians from the embassy has been the subject of controversy, with Billon Ung Boun Hor, the wife of ex- National Assembly President Ung Bon Hor, suing the French government in 1999; in response, Dyrac stated that the situation meant that turning over Cambodians to the Khmer Rouge was inevitable. Finally, on 30 April, the foreigners were removed from the embassy and trucked to the Thailand border by the Khmer Rouge. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge and the installation of a Vietnamese-backed government in 1979, the premises were used as an army command post until 1985. Between 1986 and 1991, the chancery served as an orphanage that housed up to 170 children.

Modern history (1990-present)

Relations were restored following the

1991 Paris Peace Agreements The Paris Peace Agreements (; ), officially the Comprehensive Cambodian Peace Agreements, was signed on 23 October 1991 and marked the official end of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and the Third Indochina War. The agreement led to the deployme ...

. Philippe Coste was to be appointed as a "permanent representative", as most other countries had agreed to do until the new government held elections. However, he was actually accredited as a full-fledged ambassador in his presentation of credentials on 15 November, which was one of several contentious decisions made by France to enhance its relations with Cambodia at what was considered an early stage of reintegration with the international community. The embassy was initially re-established in another site, but it was announced in 1993 that the former premises, which had been repatriated and were calculated to be 7.5 hectares, would be renovated. This took three years, with the embassy moving back in 1995 and officially opening there in 1996. During the reign of Prince

Norodom Ranariddh Norodom Ranariddh (; 2 January 1944 – 28 November 2021, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ) was a Cambodian politician and law academic. He was the second son of King Norodom S ...

as Cambodian prime minister, diplomats were denied access to him in retaliation to a warning published for foreign tourists after a series of assaults, with the rape of a French woman by a police officer soon after her arrival being a particularly concerning one. This eventually led to a diplomatic escalation that resulted in a fallout between Ranariddh and France as well as ambassador Le Lidec taking a stricter stance on human rights issues in the country.

References

Sources

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External links

* (French and Khmer) :* {{Diplomatic missions in Cambodia