Mardi 27 avril, les 2M ont pu dialoguer avec l’Ambassadeur de France au Pakistan, Marc Barety, et profiter de la présentation de sa mission diplomatique pendant près de deux heures.
Extrait du tweet #FranceinPakistan avec les délégués de la classe Asia et Thomas
First of all, this interview taught me about the main roles of an ambassador. They are very varied. Some are obvious, such as the development of relations between the two countries and the protection of the interests of France and French nationals. But some are also less obvious, such as the search for information on the situation in the foreign country.
It also gave me an insight into the daily life of an ambassador, l had no idea that their phones and computers were encrypted and some of them are supervised by special protection groups.
It provided a lot of information about the legislation surrounding an ambassador and the qualities that are necessary for this position. Of course, being honest, trustworthy and able to get a grip on the situation was evident for me but being capable to put one’s life in jeopardy was far from my mind.
To be honest, for me, the school career of an ambassador seemed like an uphill battle. I thought an ambassador could speak two or three languages, have top-level diplomas and be a political expert. But this, interview showed me that it is even harder.
As a matter of fact, before learning how the ministry works, graduating from a political institute, engineering school and ENA are required to eventually pass the competitive exam of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
I really liked the metaphor of a small country’s administration to talk about the roles of embassy staff. And I must admit that after the explanation of each of these roles, this way of conceiving an embassy is the best you can imagine.
But I was most impressed by the number of personalities of a country that you meet when you are an ambassador. You meet – as Mr. Barety put it – the crème de la crème of politicians and luminaries of the country.
At the end of the conference, 2M students were able to ask a few questions to help them better understand the responsibility of the French Ambassador in Pakistan. Students had a lot of questions about the conflicts, protests about his position in the country. He claimed that he couldn’t answer their questions, but found an alternative way to address their queries without actually giving a direct answer.
The French Ambassador in Pakistan was honest and, well, diplomatic.
Account by Martin and Marikka
