Of France in Addis Ababa

The embassy of France in Addis Ababa FROM 1907 UNTIL NOWADAYS Welcome to the Embassy of France in Addis Ababa rance is delighted to welcome you on the highlands of Ethiopia Finside the beautiful park that it was entrusted with in 1907 by Em- peror Menelik in order to set up its representation. The Emperor wished that it be located in a setting worthy of the close and trustworthy relationship founded between our country and Ethiopia in the course of the XIXth century and sealed by a friendship treaty in 1897. Due to the embassy’s long presence in the area, the surrounding neighbourhood has taken the name « Farensay ». As you will see upon reading this booklet, the embassy has been witness to important episodes of the history of Ethiopia and of France. Today, the embassy actively contributes to strengthening the extreme- ly rich partnership set up between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and our country, as well as to the development of our cooper- ation with the African Union, and in particular in promoting peace and security on the continent, but also Africa’s development and its fight against climate disruption. We are therefore pleased and proud to welcome at the residence of France many friends and personalities from Ethiopia, but also from the African Union and its member states : ministers, general Officers, ambassadors, businessmen and businesswomen, journalists, civil society representatives, artists invited by the Alliance éthio-française, researchers invited by the French Center for Ethiopian Studies, pupils from the Lycée Guebre-Mariam and young learners of the French language from Ethiopian high schools… We also have the pleasure of receiving there our fellow citizens, happy to come together to commemorate important moments from our history or simply to share a moment of conviviality together. It is this setting, exceptional for its history, for its beauty, for the wealth of its flora and fauna, that I invite you to discover through this booklet. Brigitte Collet, Ambassador of France From first contacts to establishing a permanent embassy he first contacts between France and the legendary kingdom of Prester TJohn are mostly initiated by explorers, traders or missionaries. Some of them, like Jacques-Charles Poncet in the XVIIth century or Rochet d’Héricourt in the 1840s, also played a diplomatic role. The first treaty of friendship and trade that is signed between France and Ethiopia dates back to 1843 and was made between the French king Louis-Philippe and the king Inauguration of the Addis Ababa train station on the 3rd of December 1929 in the presence of the Ambassador of France, Mr. Verchère de Reffye. of Shoa Sahle Selassie. The second half of the XIXth century sees a strengthening of the bonds The construction by the French of the railway linking Djibouti to Addis between the two countries, mostly due to a few select individuals who, in Ababa, started in 1897 and completed twenty years later, will contribute Rimbaud’s mould, had come to seek fortune and adventure in the land of the to the strenghtening of the exchanges with Ethiopia as well as to the Negus. Félix Faure, the president of the French Republic, decides in 1897 French presence in the region. to send a minister to represent him at the court of Emperor Menelik, who has just beaten the Italians in Adua the preceding year. This desire to forge Ten years later, in 1907, Emperor Menelik grants France an extensive permanent ties with the Negus owes a lot to the French presence in Djibouti. domain carved out of his private lands in order that the country establish a permanent representation. This domain is received during the special On the 20th of March 1897, Léonce Lagarde, the governor of Djibouti and first mission of the minister Mr. Klabukovski. The French presence in Ethiopia Ambassador of France to Ethiopia, signs several conventions with Menelik is reinforced the same year with the opening of the Ethio-French Alliance in recognizing the borders between the former-Côte française des Somalis (as Addis Ababa, followed by the opening of a second Alliance in Dire Dawa. Djibouti was then known) and Ethiopia. Léonce Lagarde, main architect of the incipient warm Franco-Ethiopian relationship, is granted the title Duke A domain for the embassy of Entoto by Menelik and will become the godfather of the future monarch Emperor Menelik wanted France to enjoy a domain on which the country Haile Selassie. could establish a permanent representation. It is said that he demarcated the plot himself on the 15th of June 1907 during a hunting foray. Here is what Mr. Klabukovski has to say: “none is superior to it or can boast, amongst the legations’ zone, of better conditions from all points of view. Menelik insisted on demarcating it himself, giving us more than what I had requested. He wishes, he told me, that France, who came as a friend, the first in Abyssinia, feel at ease in his capital.” Arrival of Léonce Lagarde in Ethiopia, in 1897 (source : L’Illustration). 2 3 he next year, the Ambassador of France, Mr. Brice, undertakes the con- THE EMBASSY AND THE Tstruction of an official French residence with his own income. The build- CORONATION CEREMONIES ing, that he thinks is temporary, is modelled on traditional Ethiopian houses. A single storey construction, it is largely open onto the garden, and faces The coronation is fixed for the 2nd of November 1930, the south and the imperial capital. Upon the request of the emperor, the and the Emperor requests that the European and legation has a bridge built on the verge of its plot to ease the comings and American delegations arrive a few days beforehand. goings of its agents and, especially, of the communities living in the vicinity. Marshal Franchet d’Esperey is welcomed in person It is in this domain that the French delegation, which has arrived on time by the Emperor upon his arrival by train on the 27th The western facade of the legation in 1917. to witness the coronation of empress Zawditu in 1917, sets up. This delega- of October. One thousand military troops make up tion is led by the new Ambassador of France, Maurice de Coppet. It is the the guard of honour outside the train station. A quick first time that France sends an official representative to the coronation of an succession of diner parties, receptions, ceremonies th Ethiopian sovereign. In 1919, the French state buys and horse races then follows. On the 4 of Novem- back the house built by Mr. ber, a great dinner during which 44 guests are enter- Brice, which becomes the resi- tained is given at the residence. As the dining hall is dence of the French Embassy. too small, a tent is erected in the garden. The Emper- During the visit of the travel- or is present with the Empress and the main dignitar- ies of the country, as well as the Duke of Gloucester ler and writer André Armandy and the Prince of Udine, who each represent their re- in 1929, the latter describes a spective countries. A beautiful reception follows the large and agreeable building dinner followed by dances that continue well into the “but which, with is thatch roof night. On the 7th of November, the Marshal receives and wattle and daub walls, the Emperor and the military high command at the was still really just a hut.” embassy, for a ceremonious lunch followed by anoth- er reception. The next day marks the end of this op- In 1930, a French delegation ulent period for the imperial capital and the French led by Marshal Franchey legation. 1 d’Esperey comes to Addis In the report sent on the 14th of November 1930 to Mr. Ababa for the coronation Briand, the Minister of Foreign affairs of the French of Haile Selassie. It is an Republic, the Ambassador, Mr. Verchère de Reffye, important juncture for the underlines the good performance of the embassy friendship that links the two stables during the show jumping organized upon the countries and France wishes occasion of the coronation: “the events proved to be to express this fact in a clear a real triumph for the stables of the French legation, manner. The delegation’s ar- that won two cups and several prizes.” These stables, rival is minutely prepared by like other embassy stables in Addis Ababa, date back the Ambassador. to the time when Addis Ababa inhabitants still used 2 3 horses to circulate in the capital city. They are today a riding club, managed by an association. 1. 1917. The caravan of Maurice de Coppet en route to the coronation of Zewditu. 2 and 3. 1917. Coronation of Zewditu, Menilik the second’s daughter. On the left, Maurice de Coppet. 4 5 These sumptuous ceremonies also highlight the fact that the French residence is no longer adapted to the necessities of diplomatic life in Addis Ababa. What is more, Emperor Haile Selassie, acting upon a wish of Menelik, was encouraging France to embellish the park by building new facilities that would agree with the beautiful setting of the embassy. 1 2 3 1934. The French Legation during the renovation works (left) and after its renovation (right). In 1934, great works are undertaken. The residence sheds its old appear- ance but keeps its thatch roof, similar in this detail to most of the traditional houses in the Addis Ababa of the 1930s. The gardens are embellished and the reception rooms are transformed and completed with a winter garden. A tall mast is built in order that the colors of the Republic fly high above the French legation.

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