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Public figures from the second or third generation of immigrants are emerging slowly. The traditionally anticommunist sentiment in Paris’s thirteenth district, populated by former refugees, has all but disappeared. The district’s Socialist Party MP, a former advocate of Taiwan, switched his sympathies to the PRC before leaving politics in 2017. While France has always seen itself as a melting pot society—where even native languages dissolved over a generation—the economic attraction of China is clearly felt.

Police and judicial cooperation have also become an issue. In 2017, for the first time, a PRC citizen accused of corruption was extradited back to China; no public assurances were given regarding a possible death penalty. Another case erupted when Chinese public security officials made an unannounced visit to France to pressure a resident to return home and face charges.

Politics

For decades, China’s National Day reception has been the most sought-after diplomatic reception in France, with queues often backing into the street. China’s diplomatic buildings have in fact sprouted up around Paris, sometimes acquired from French government sites on sale. China has cultivated a stable of former French politicians. Of particular interest to China is former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, who is a frequent visitor to the country. He has regularly made positive remarks to Chinese state media and at other fora regarding the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese cooperation with the EU. In 2018, he became a distinguished professor at China Europe International Business School and now heads its advisory board.

Civil Society

A new generation of NGOs linking French and PRC members and sponsors has emerged, complementing the traditional role of business. Most prominent is the France-China Foundation, guided by an active French diplomat and presided over by current prime minister Edouard Philippe. With prominent PRC businessmen (such as Jack Ma) as cosponsors and old or new members of the French establishment (e.g., former prime minister Laurent Fabius and Cedric Villani, prominent mathematician and an MP since 2017), the foundation hosts social events, including at the Château de Versailles. Its strongest activity is a Young Leaders program that is patterned after the traditional Fondation France-Amérique. Other organizations include the Fondation Prospective et Innovation, headed by Jean-Pierre Raffarin, which awards a Wu Jianmin scholarship named after a former Chinese ambassador to France.

Appendix 2

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