News

Annual Meeting of the France/ South Africa Political Discussion Forum (...)

The Secretary General of the Department of Foreign and European Affairs, Pierre Sellal, led the French delegation at the France/ South Africa Political Discussion Forum of which the annual meeting was held on Novembers 19th and 20th in Pretoria. He was received by his South African counterpart, (...) [read ...]

Flag ceremony sets 2010 mood

The South African Football Association (SAFA) House at Nasrec was abuzz during a “flag hoisting” ceremony ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Mr Laurent Clavel, Director of the French Cultural Agency (IFAS) attended the event. [read ...]

The Calling of the ALBATROS at Simon’s Town

The French Navy Ship ALBATROS is a former trawler bought by the French Navy in 1983. She is based in the Réunion Island and her principal mission is the EEZ surveillance of the French Southern overseas possession (Kerguelen, Crozet, Saint Paul and Amsterdam) as well as the support to the French (...) [read ...]

CIRAD at the heart of a new centre of excellence

CIRAD is at the heart of a new centre of excellence on water in Southern Africa The new International Centre for Water Economics and Governance in Africa, IWEGA, launched in Maputo in May 2009, will offer an initial vocational training as early as November 2009. The centre managers are working (...) [read ...]

Call for funding application 2010 Honours, Masters, Doctoral, (...)

IFAS-Research would like to remind research teams, researchers and students in the Human and Social Sciences working on Southern Africa, that all applications for the financing of research works, events, field trips or publications for 2010 must imperatively reach us by email only (...) [read ...]

Climate negotiations speech by Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and (...)

Can political action succeed in the face of climate change? Europe before Copenhagen – only three months left to find an international agreement Thank you all for being here. I'd like to try and explain to you why my friends David Miliband and Carl Bildt and I are here before you to discuss (...) [read ...]

France and the fight against global warming

Nelly Olin, French Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development, stated on 31 October that she fully agreed with the conclusions of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. Indeed, on 3 July 2006, the French “Facteur IV” working group, tasked with determining how to reduce (...) [read ...]

French contribution to the Biotech Fundi Awards

Since 2005 the French Embassy in Pretoria and the greater Paris region have joined forces with the Province of Gauteng in promoting biotechnologies. Following a request by the Gauteng regional government, the Embassy contributed to this prize which recognises major achievements by Gauteng (...) [read ...]

French National Order of Merit awarded to Mark Wilson

On September 10th 2009 the executive chairman of Alstom South Africa, Mark Wilson, was awarded a knighthood in the French National Order of Merit. Speech of His Excellency, Mr. Denis Pietton, Ambassador of France in South Africa, on the occasion of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite” (...) [read ...]

Absa l’Atelier and Gerard Sekoto award winners

The 2009 Absa l’Atelier prize was awarded to Stephen Rosin while the Gerard Sekoto prize for the most promising artist was won by Nyaniso Lindi for his linocut 'Tribute to Noria Mabasa'. [read ...]

French diplomatic news

• Franco-Russian Intergovernmental Seminar (November 27, 2009)
• Israel: 10-month moratorium on new settlement building (26.11.09)
• 2009 International Press Freedom Award (25.11.09)
• Guinean opposition’s rejection of the proposals by Blaise Compaoré (...)
• Publishing of the provisional electoral roll (22.11.09)