Friends of French Initiatives in Vermont,
As our community plays a part in supporting our French heritage and culture while continuing to develop relationships for the future, I want to share with you the recent honor I had as Honorary Consul of France in Vermont to meet the President of France.
As you know, President Macron recently made a state visit to the United States. In advance, the French Ambassador to the United States invited me to Washington to attend a reception for the President on November 30 at the French Embassy. I was also invited to participate in President Macron’s arrival ceremony on December 1 at the White House.
The number of people both at the embassy and at the White House, as well as the diversity of their interests and support, was impressive.
The President of France is a most interesting person and had a way of engaging that made everyone at ease. At the reception, he awarded the French Legion of Honor medals to members of the Communauté Française, then leaped onto the stage, and the tone went from formal to relaxed. His energy and joie de vivre were in the air. He had people laughing, and you could tell this was going to be something personal and special. After a brief statement thanking us for all the work we all do to promote French connections, the chef came forward with a baguette. The President announced that it was a national treasure. That presentation made for a light and fun beginning to the evening.
To answer most people’s question, yes, I did get to shake President Macron’s hand. Hundreds of people attended the embassy reception, but I was fortunate enough to get there early and got a front-row standing-room-only spot front and center. Not only did I get to shake his hand, I informed him that I am the chair of our Honfleur Jumelage. He said he had just been to Honfleur earlier in the month. I told him I knew that because my good friends in Honfleur had just told me of his recent visit. Mayor Michel Lamarre is a mutual friend of ours. We were on a roll, but his staff indicated he had to move on. I quickly turned around and took a selfie as a memento of this very personable interaction to share with Vermont.
The reception included many French cheeses as arranged by gentlemen from the French-American Cheese organization. They were very familiar with Vermont cheeses.
In January I will return to the embassy to meet with Ambassador Etienne along with many of the other honorary consuls of France in the United States. It is clear the embassy is happy with what we are doing and is looking to provide additional encouragement for us to continue to develop relationships and interests in trade, the arts, gastronomie, technology, and cultural initiatives to further the valued relationship between France and the United States. We have many initiatives already in play, and we can always do more. I’m happy to help with the mission, as it helps us too.
I found many new opportunities to connect people and develop initiatives of mutual interest. I look forward to following up on several that impact various groups we work with in support of our communities. And I will advance our French initiatives in my meetings with the Ambassador as the President requested. Vermont is at the table!
Thank you for your continued support.
Lise Veronneau
Honorary Consul of France in Vermont
Madame le Chevalier Ordre National du Mérite