French–Icelandic relations are foreign relations between
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and
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 ...
. Diplomatic relations between them were established on 10 January 1946. Both nations are members of the
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
,
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...
, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.
History
French seamen started fishing in the seas nearby Iceland in the 18th century. In the 1900s the French organization ''Société des hopitaux francais d´Islande'' built three hospitals in Iceland, one in Reykjavík, one in the
Vestmann Islands
Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland.
The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyja ...
and one in
Fáskrúðsfjörður
Fáskrúðsfjörður (; previously named also Búðir ) is a village (''þorp'') in eastern Iceland.
It has a population of 735 (as of 2024) and constitutes one of the villages composing the municipality of Fjarðabyggð.
Geography
Fáskrúðsf ...
, East-Iceland. Of those three hospitals, the hospital in Fáskrúðsfjörður was rebuilt in 2009–2014. In 1955 a cemetery was built in Fáskrúðsfjörður for 49 French seamen.
Trade and investment
In 2014, Iceland directly exported goods worth 12.7 billion ISK to France, making them the seventh export destination of Iceland.
Resident diplomatic missions
* France has an embassy in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
.
* Iceland has an embassy in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
See also
*
Ambassador of Iceland to France
References
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
Bilateral relations of Iceland
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