The official Bastille Day reception took place on 14 July at the Hong Kong Convention Centre in the presence of Mr. Paul Chan, Financial Secretary.

Before the ceremony began, a live broadcast of military parade on Champs-Élysées, Paris, was projected on stage. The ceremony opened with the French and Chinese national anthems performed by Opera Hong Kong. Through her AI avatar, Consul-General Christile Drulhe presented the France’s achievements in the past year in fields of investment, economic development, start-up, tourism, mega events, scientific research and diplomacy.

The real Consul-General was invited on stage to deliver a speech to celebrate the business, cultural, sports and academic exchanges between France and Hong Kong whilst she looked forward to fostering more collaborations in the field of sustainability and innovation.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan, in his speech, said that France is one of Hong Kong’s most important trading partners in the European Union and the potential of tech cooperation.

After a toast, the soirée was livened up by a cocktail with band "Gadjo" performing Gypsy Jazz classics!

Honourable Paul CHAN, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,
Deputy Commissioner Li Yongsheng,
Dear Consuls General,
Mesdames et messieurs les Conseillers des Français de l’étranger,
Mes chers compatriotes,
各位嘉賓，
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you today in this wonderful Bauhinia Room, for our 2025 Bastille Day celebration.

I would also like to acknowledge the presence of the former Chief Executive Mrs. Carrie Lam, President of the Legislative Council Mr. Andrew Leung and Convenor of the Executive Council Mrs. Regina Ip, Member of the Executive Council Mr Jeffrey Lam, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Ms Rosanna Law. Thank you very much for joining us this evening!

Our national day is a day to celebrate our unity around our values: freedom, equality, fraternity, as well as our friendship with Hong Kong.

I hope you have appreciated this short AI presentation of the key breakthroughs for France this year. My Cantonese has not improved to the level of a native speaker, but thanks to the magic of AI powered by the French Hong Kong-based start-up Libertify, I was happy to bring you my avatar to illustrate the excellence of France and Europe in AI. Indeed I truly believe that the major announcements of massive investments in this sector at the AI Action Summit in Paris last February could give rise to new projects between France and Hong Kong in business and research.

It is my third year in Hong Kong and I would like to thank all of you warmly for nurturing our bilateral relations day after day in a mutually beneficial way. President Macron and President Xi Jinping have set a clear roadmap to enhance France China relations, and Hong Kong has of course a special role to play in the framework of the “one country, two systems principle”.

Our business and cultural exchanges have continued to thrive this year. We have also witnessed the establishment of new important partnerships in the health and in the sports sectors involving our sports institutes, as well as our hospital authorities. Our yearly mega event, the French May, just finished yesterday with the closing of the Picasso exhibition at M+, contributing this year again to the vibrancy of the local cultural scene and attracting numerous outside visitors.

These exchanges and cooperation bring tangible economic benefits for the Hong Kong people who can take advantage of the technologies, expertise and top craftsmanship of French companies on a daily basis, in banking, sustainable infrastructure, recycling, transportation, luxury, cosmetics among other areas. In this regard, I am convinced that the partnership between France and Hong Kong in the field of sustainability and innovation still has a lot of untapped potential, as both our territories share the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The retrofitting of old buildings in Hong Kong will be key in this regard. And I want to thank you, Mr Financial Secretary, for your personal involvement in this endeavour, as well as Housing Secretary Winnie Ho and Innovation Secretary Sun Dong for coming to France to promote new projects last May.

Of course, I cannot help but mention French wines and delicacies as an area of great convergence between France and Hong Kong. The reform of the excise tax on spirits last October was very much welcome even if some still hope that it can be scrapped altogether in the near future! Coming to Hong Kong to taste France’s finest liquors, such as Cognac, Armagnac or Calvados, is part of the beauty of the Hong Kong story as an East meets West capital for gastronomy. I am sure that both Secretary Yau and Secretary Law gave it a try during their respective visits to Bordeaux a few days ago to foster trade and tourism in the wine & spirits industry!

I also want to pay tribute to the community of French researchers based in Hong Kong. Secretary Choi’s visit to France last September was very much appreciated as a sign of our joint interest in reinforcing our academic and scientific exchanges.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, let us continue to learn from the past to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. Today’s wars and international crisis, geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainties require us to participate actively to this effort at our own level. They should lead us to cherish in particular the long-term friendship between France and Hong Kong as part of China.

For France, this challenging international situation means that we are more than ever attached to building a European Union which is ensuring a sustainable growth, committed in defending its security and promoting international security based on international law. As the European union and China celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year, you can count on France to continue to work closely with our European partners in Hong Kong to create the conditions for our exchanges to flourish. In particular, we will continue to encourage our Hong Kong friends to preserve what has made their prosperity: fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, tolerance, international overture. And here I would also like to thank the Secretary for Justice Paul Lam for visiting France recently as we need to keep our channels open to discuss all these subjects.

Let me conclude by inviting again Secretary Paul Chan to France and by encouraging more two-way visits between France and Hong Kong. It is indeed the best way to discover the fantastic opportunities on both sides and to ensure mutual understanding!

Allow me some final words in French for our numerous community:

Mes chers compatriotes,

C’est avec une grande joie que je vous retrouve ce soir pour célébrer ensemble la fête nationale française. L’an dernier, nous célébrions le 60ème anniversaire des relations diplomatiques entre la France et la Chine et les valeurs de l’olympisme avec Paris 2024. Nous avons cette année continué de bâtir sur cette dynamique, en mettant à l’honneur les 50 ans des relations entre l’Union européenne et la Chine dans un monde où notre Union fait aussi notre force. Votre engagement et votre énergie au service de notre communauté ont été bien sûr décisifs. Je tiens à cette occasion à vous exprimer toute ma gratitude. Je veux aussi féliciter de nouveau le Lycée français international pour ses résultats exceptionnels au baccalauréat : son rôle et celui de nos autres petites écoles est essentiel pour permettre à nos familles d’être assurées ici d’une éducation française d’excellence !

Le consulat avec Business France et Atout France continuera d’être à vos côtés pour vous soutenir, en s’appuyant sur nos élus des Français de l’étranger, les CCEF, la Chambre de commerce française et notre remarquable tissu associatif ! Je tiens d’ailleurs à remercier ici très chaleureusement nos associations et tous leurs soutiens qui se sont mobilisés pour organiser cette année encore un événement ouvert à tous nos compatriotes pour marquer notre fête nationale !

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I pass the floor to our Guest of honour and we open the buffet so that meaningful conversations can start around a glass of French wine or a cognac cocktail, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to our main sponsor for our Bastille Day this year like for the past many years, Mr William Doo, Chairman of Fung Seng Prosperity Holdings Limited and FSE Lifestyle Services Limited, who is also co-chairman of the France Hong Kong Business Council. Let me also warmly thank CTF Services Limited, as well as our other major sponsors, L’Oréal, Pernod-Ricard, Banque Transatlantique, BNP Paribas and Veolia, our wine provider Bernard Magrez and Business France, as well as the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre which is welcoming us today. Finally, please allow me to acknowledge my exceptional team at the consulate who has worked hard for all our achievements this year, including tonight’s event: un très grand merci à tous!

Vive la République, Vive la France, Vive la communauté française de Hong Kong !

Enjoy the evening! Très bonne soirée! 多謝晒 !