Réception à bord du FS FLOREAL - French Embassy in South Africa

Réception à bord du FS FLOREAL
Port Elizabeth – 19 avril 2016
Commandant François-Xavier WAROUX,
Chers amis,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to see you all tonight aboard the Floreal Frigate.
Thank you so much, Commandant, and your crew, for your warm
welcome aboard your ship.
The purpose of our visit is to come as a “French team” and assess the
huge
potential
and
manifold
opportunities
of
cooperation
and
collaboration with PE and its region. Economic opportunities of course,
but also academic, cultural, maritime.
We have all noticed that Nelson Mandela Bay is increasingly courted in
these electoral times. But the organization of the Embassy’s visit dates
back to last year. And here we are ! Excited to be with you tonight.
Let me briefly introduce my team:
-the Defense Attaché and his team
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-the French consul based in Cape Town, Xavier, his Deputy Gaëlle,
and Gerald our Honorary Consul here in PE (you will hear more
about him later)
- our Economic and trade heads of division, Serge and Jacques,
- our Cooperation division , with Frank and Romain, whose focus is
on training, capacity building and innovation,
- the head of AFD, our development Bank, Martha
- French companies
- and last but not least, somebody you certainly know, Charlotte
Jarnet, the Director of the Alliance française of Port Elizabeth,
They are all here tonight to meet with you and learn about your region,
your city, your prospects, your ideas and challenges, so please feel free
to interact with them tonight, and raise any issue you would like to.
As we are hosted on this beautiful ship let me say a particular word on
our military cooperation:
 South Africa and France are neighbours in the Indian Ocean. The
Réunion island is an overseas territory and therefore an integral
part of the French Republic. This little piece of France is only 4
hours away, and as South Africans, you don’t need a visa. So
please go and spend your holidays there!
 Our two countries enjoy a long standing cooperation through the
FAZSOI, the French forces in the Southern Indian Ocean, based in
the Reunion. We have a regular major joint exercise in the region,
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Oxide. The last one was held in Richards Bay, last year, and the
next one, in November 2017, will take place in La Réunion.
 We are confronted to common threats: piracy, illegal fishing,
maritime security, trafficking… Through Oxyde, and visits such as
this one, we are learning to work together.
 Warm thanks to Port Elizabeth Municipality, for welcoming so
nicely the crew and allowing them a few days of rest and recovery
before an exhausting mission in the French Southern and Antarctic
territories.
Let me now say a word to the French citizens who came tonight in big
numbers.
La communauté française de Port-Elizabeth compte aujourd’hui 174
Français inscrits. La plupart d’entre vous sont en Afrique du sud depuis
longtemps. La France est également présente à P-E au travers de ses
entreprises dynamiques telles que Faurecia, GDF Suez, ID Logistics ,
Segard-Masurel, Innowind pour ne citer qu’elles.
This important French community in P-E is also growing because of the
numerous students who come to study at NMMU (which I will visit
tomorrow morning) or a bit further in Grahamstown at Rhodes U.
A special mention for Port Elizabeth Accueil , a very active organization
dedicated to your community. Cette association offre de l’aide à ceux et
celles qui peuvent en avoir besoin à leur arrivée dans cette ville ou tout
simplement se retrouver entre Français.
As you know, the Alliance Française is a flagship in P-E for the French
/francophone community and the cultural scene of your beautiful city.
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Grâce à ses activités linguistiques mais aussi culturelles, notamment par
l’organisation d’un festival désormais très connu organisé à l’occasion de
la fête de la musique, l’Alliance Française devient incontournable à P-E.
De nombreux projets sont en cours et permettront d’élargir encore, dans
l’Eastern Cape, le rayonnement et l’influence de la France, de sa culture
et de cette langue française, que nous partageons avec des millions de
francophones dans le monde. Toutes mes félicitations au comité de
l’Alliance française et à sa directrice Charlotte Jarnet pour l’excellent
travail effectué. A big thank you to the board, the teachers and in
particular to the Director.
Regarding the consular activity, I would like to share with you a few
messages:
1/ first : please check regularly the website of the French consulate in
Cape Town, as well as its Facebook page and Twitter. You will find all
the information you need, in English and constantly updated.
2/ Two : If you want to vote for the French general elections in 2017,
please make sure to register at the Consulate in Cape Town, or at a
Mairie in France ,before the 31st December 2016. N’oubliez pas de vous
inscrire sur la liste électorale consulaire avant le 31 décembre 2016, afin
de voter pour les élections présidentielles et législatives de 2017. Plus
d’info sur les procurations on the website.
3/ Third message: the French Ministry of foreign affairs is going into eadministration ! Which is excellent news for French expatriates. En effet,
le Ministère des Affaires étrangères œuvre en permanence à la
facilitation des procédures et à leur dématérialisation pour les Français
de l’étranger. Dans l’eventualité d’un retour en France, Matthias Fekl,
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secrétaire d’État chargé du commerce extérieur, de la promotion du
tourisme, et des Français de l’étranger, a présenté récemment un
simulateur pour guider les Français établis à l’étranger dans la
préparation des démarches administratives liées à leur retour en France.
4/ Last point : you know that you have a very effective consulate in Cape
Town, efficiently relayed by your honorary consul, Gerald Henderson. In
those times of budgetary constraints, it is a blessing for us to benefit from
his assistance. To sustain this presence, which has an administrative
cost, you are now requested to contribute to the cost of the service
provided. Cette présence, qui facilite vos remises des passeports, vos
dossiers d’état-civil, vos certificats de vie, vos procurations de vote ou
tout autre acte consulaire, est une réelle chance. Comme vous le savez,
vous devrez désormais, comme vos compatriotes du Cap et d’East
London, vous acquitter des droits de chancellerie auprès de Gérald.
C’est grâce à la collecte de ces droits de chancellerie que nous pourrons
à terme maintenir ici cette présence si précieuse.
Remise de la nationalité à Gerald
Cher Gérald,
Vous êtes à l’honneur ce soir !
Gérald, if someone deserves to be congratulated in French it is certainly
you who studied so much our language. But for the benefit of all tonight, I
will make you blush by mentioning some of your qualities in English.
It is indeed a particular day for me officially to bestow the French
nationality upon
you. Let me briefly come back to your exceptional
contribution to the presence of France in PE, which has already been
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acknowledged by the French authorities in the past with two French
orders, Chevalier des arts et des lettres and Mérite National.
Born in then Rhodesia, you spent most of your career in the automotive
industry. None of the companies you worked for were actually French, so
it is not through your work that you came to know France but through
your love for the French language –le Français que vous parlez si bien et
avec tant de plaisir. You indeed joined the Alliance française first as a
student in 1975, graduating in 1987 with a Diplome de langue française.
You then joined the board of the Alliance française in 1989, first as vicePresident, and in 1991, as President, a position you held for many years.
I know how much you contributed to establishing the successful and
vibrant organization the Alliance française of Port Elizabeth is today,
working closely with the different directors and board members and
promoting with passion our beloved French language.
In 1993, the French government decided to appoint you as honorary
consul of France in Port Elizabeth, a position you have been holding with
dedication and talent to this day.
Dear Gerald, I have known you for more than three years now and I have
appreciated your sense of duty, your dedication, your competence and
professionalism. You fulfill these demanding consular tasks without
sparing your time and your efforts in order to achieve this mission which
is twofold :
- to support to French citizens established in Port Elizabeth and French
tourists visiting the region,
- to represent France towards local authorities and South African citizens
who want to travel or do business with France.
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With you, France has a fantastic Ambassador and your proved it once
again during the preparation of this mission of the French embassy. We
are very grateful. For all of this, it is now my great pleasure and privilege
to officially bestow the French nationality on you, about which I will say a
few words in French.
Accéder à la qualité de citoyen français est une étape importante. Elle
constitue l’aboutissement d’un choix personnel qui témoigne de votre
attachement au pays qui vous a accueilli et consacre votre volonté
d’appartenir à la communauté nationale.
Cette acquisition de la nationalité française clôt une démarche volontaire
et courageuse qui demande de se plier à une procédure rigoureuse
permettant à l’administration de s’assurer de la volonté d’intégration de
celui ou celle qui postule. Elle n’est pas automatique et demande de la
ténacité. Soyez chaleureusement félicité et remercié d’être allé jusqu’au
bout de vos efforts.
En devenant Français, vous souscrivez au contrat qui lie tous les
membres de la communauté nationale, vous acceptez les lois de la
République et vous choisissez de vous inscrire dans le pacte républicain
et démocratique qui fait notre fierté d’être français.
Etre citoyen français, c’est en effet adhérer aux valeurs et principes qui
forment le socle de la République. Vous connaissez sa devise et vous la
ferez vôtre: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. Nous avons le devoir de servir,
de protéger et de faire prospérer ces principes humanistes qui concilient
le respect de l’individu et la cohésion de la Nation, une et indivisible.
Bienvenue au sein de la Nation française ! La France vous accueille
désormais officiellement comme l’un des siens mais vous étiez déjà
Français de cœur depuis longtemps.
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