PROFILE:As French rugby fans lend a certain je ne sais quoi to Dublin this weekend, MARY FITZGERALD visits the 'dynamic and engaging' new French ambassador, Emmanuelle d'Achon.
IF YOU HAVE ever wondered what lies beneath the imposing façade of the French ambassador’s residence in Dublin, considered one of the grandest homes in the city, you may soon have the opportunity to find out. Ambassador Emmanuelle d’Achon plans to throw open the doors of the elegant Ailesbury Road pile to the public as part of the Irish Architecture Foundation’s next Open House Dublin event.
“It is a building with lots of history but it shouldn’t be a museum,” she explains over coffee and pastries at the residence. “It has to be a lively home, and a home open to the Irish public. It’s an Irish home, I would say, with a French touch inside.”
Given the attention the 11-bedroom mansion drew in early 2008 when it was put on the market for a cool €60 million (but failed to sell), there is sure to be much interest in viewing the 1,022sq m house, with its magnificent drawing room that can fit 200 people for drinks.
The decision to open the property to the public is very much in keeping with how d’Achon envisages her role as the Quai d’Orsay’s envoy to Ireland. As many who have met her since she took up her posting last autumn will attest, the new French ambassador likes to do things a little differently.
Dynamic and engaging are the words people tend to employ when describing the latest denizen of 53 Ailesbury Road.
“She’s a breath of fresh air,” says one long-standing member of the French ex-pat community. “She has a passion for Ireland and a real hunger to understand it.”
D’Achon sought the Dublin ambassadorship as the next step in a diplomatic career which has included stints in the US, South Africa, Tanzania and Mauritius. She had visited Ireland once before as a tourist in the 1990s, taking in Connemara and Kerry. “My impression was of a very beautiful country.” So enamoured was she, that in 1998 she sent her son to Cork to study English for a year.
“Ireland had always been on my mind,” d’Achon says of her wish to be posted to Dublin. “I had met a lot of people of Irish descent when I was posted to the United States, and I thought it would be great to come to Ireland because I wanted to really get to know the people and see more of the country. Being posted here changes everything because you can be really involved. It is a post I was delighted to get.”
Since presenting her credentials to President Mary McAleese in September, d’Achon has immersed herself in the ebb and flow of Irish life with an energy that marks her out on the diplomatic circuit. “My main goal is to meet Irish people,” she says. “The more I meet, the more I will have the opportunity to really get a sense of how they feel. That is why I am here.”
Within months of her arrival, the ambassador had developed an impressive grasp of the contours of Ireland’s economic crisis and the intricacies of its politics. She talks of how much she likes to get out of Dublin to meet politicians and their constituents on the ground to get a sense of how the plates of the political landscape may be shifting.
D’Achon becomes animated when she speaks about the deep ties that bind France and Ireland. “There are a lot of affinities between French and Irish people, and much of it goes back to historical reasons. We have always been close to the Irish people in history. We came to the rescue sometimes – it was not always successful, but we always had this affinity that is in some respects difficult to pin down.” If anything, she says, the French tend to romanticise Ireland. “I think that’s a good thing – it gives you dreams and good ideas about a country.”
She notes the significant role played by Michel Déon’s acclaimed 1973 novel Un Taxi Mauve, which was set in Connemara and later turned into a hugely popular film, in shaping French perceptions of Ireland. But is it not a rather outdated and sentimental portrayal of Ireland and the Irish?
“I’m not so sure – the landscapes have not changed and the natural beauty of Ireland has not changed. That is something eternal and it is an asset for tourism. “Un Taxi Mauve brought a very positive image of Ireland. It is not the Ireland of The Quiet Man, with the quarrels, the fights and the drunken Irish. In France we complain about the baguette and the beret image but these are good images after all.”
She acknowledges, however, that Déons novel has less resonance with a younger generation in France. “I think young French people now come to Ireland more because they see Dublin as an attractive, vibrant city, with lots of music and culture.”
D’Achon believes the affinity she sees between the French and the Irish may help explain why Ireland’s image has not taken a battering in France, as it did in other countries after the extent of the Irish economic crisis became clear.
“Everyone in France was happy with the bailout, everyone was in favour of doing something for Ireland, there was a lot of solidarity,” she says. “A poll in France showed that a large majority thought it was necessary to help Ireland.
“Also, when I speak to French investors and business people, the feeling I get is that not only have they invested already in Ireland but they are staying here and recruiting and they want to invest more.”
Foreign diplomats posted to Ireland are often struck by the relative ease of access and the sense of intimacy prompted by the country’s size. “The ease of access is real and noticeable but more than that I would say it is the warmth of the welcome and the openness of the people,” d’Achon says. “People like to talk here and it is easy to exchange views and learn.”
She is impressed with the way people have responded to the State’s economic woes. “The resilience of the Irish people and their joyfulness in adversity is something I have found very striking,” she says.
“People say ‘yes, we are going to live in difficult times but we accept it, we will manage, we will do it’. There is a sense of taking control of your own destiny and not just waiting for the State to help you – that is the big difference when you compare with the French perspective.”
D’Achon enjoys watching debates on the financial crisis being played out on current affairs programmes. She singles out The Frontline on RTÉ. “People on it can express their views in what you could describe as a kind of direct democracy. We don’t have anything like that in France, at least not to the same extent.”
She has observed the debate over how to address the low number of women in Irish politics with interest. “There is a contradiction here because you have President McAleese who, along with Mary Robinson, gives a wonderful image of a woman in power, yet at the same time there are not enough female TDs.
“We have the same problem in France and we have decided that quotas are necessary because without them you can’t really improve the situation. The question of quotas will be interesting to follow here.”
The ambassador enthuses about the rich cultural life she has found in the capital, where she is a regular theatre-goer – she raves about the Abbey’s recent production of Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman – and museum visitor. She is also an avid reader of Irish fiction. Writers she admires include Colm Tóibín – his novel The Heather Blazing is a particular favourite – Anne Enright, and Claire Keegan. More recently she has delved into the work of John Banville and Joseph O’Connor.
She recalls a recent event she attended in Dublin where the speakers talked of the creative potential of the soul-searching that often springs from economic difficulties. “They spoke of the importance of getting back to real values and questioning who we are. I think times of crisis have always been very creative, and this creativity is something very palpable here in Ireland where you have so many young writers,” she says. “Perhaps there will be a questioning of what happened during the Celtic Tiger years and even more creativity and imagination will emerge from that.”
The French embassy has always been very active in the cultural sphere, participating in events including annual French film festivals in Dublin and Cork and the yearly Franco-Irish literary festival. This year the embassy will support a series of performances by French acrobat, poet and magician James Thiérrée at the Abbey (see below), and an appearance by French choreographer Jérôme Bel at International Dance Festival Ireland. It will also be involved in the Wexford Opera Festival and the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s 20th-anniversary celebrations.
“I think the French and the Irish share lots of common thinking about the role of culture in general,” says the ambassador. “I remember Colm Tóibín speaking at an Ireland Literary Exchange event in November where he talked of the ‘strange and secret power of culture’. That is very true.”
One discovery that has both surprised and delighted d’Achon is what she describes as the Irish love for the French language. “I did not expect it to be so strong,” she says, noting that more than half of students take French at Leaving Cert level. She also mentions the success of the Alliance Française in Ireland – the Dublin centre is the third largest in Europe with more than 4,000 enrolled in classes. “We want to encourage more young people here to do professional French – such as commercial or legal French – something that will give them an edge in the competitive world in which we live.”
D’Achon’s husband, Jean-Eudes, works at the French ministry of finance. “He commutes between Paris and Dublin,” she says. They have two daughters: one is a barrister in Paris and the other is studying in Montreal. Their son works as an engineer in Paris.
In her spare time, the ambassador likes to explore the streets of Dublin. “I love the open markets on Moore Street and in Temple Bar,” she says. “I like the atmosphere, it’s always very lively.”
At least twice a week, she sets out for long seafront walks in nearby Sandymount or Howth. “I like to hear the seagulls reminding me that we are close to the sea.”
D’Achon sings the praises of Ireland’s raw produce and notes the high quality of artisan foodstuffs, including cheese. “You have a lot of assets in this area, and we are buying a lot of them in France. The fish here, in particular, is exceptionally good.”
And she has been impressed by the Irish culinary scene. “I was told Irish food was terrible but I do not agree, and I even like potatoes,” she laughs. “I think you have made tremendous progress in this area. I’m not pretending I find the food here good – it’s true! One of my favourites is seafood chowder. A bowl of seafood chowder after walking Howth Head is a real treat.”
French fancies
We'll be watching the rugby tomorrow but here are a few other Gallic delights for Francophiles
THE QUEEN OF FASHION IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
With its outlandishly beautiful editorial spreads, French Vogue has always put the English-language versions to shame, and it thrived under editor Carine Roitfeld. But the woman who produced spreads of "pregnant" models smoking fags and put bearded drag queens on the cover has left her throne, and last month the most exciting job in French fashion media went to her former fashion director, Emmanuelle Alt. Drop her name to impress the particularly well-dressed . . .
FRANCE ON SCREEN
The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, which kicks off on February 17th, wouldn't be the same without a dash of French cinema. And it's not all stereotypical adultery and ennui – one of this year's highlights is Luc Besson's Adéle Blanc. Based on a classic French comic, it's a rip-roaring adventure about an intrepid young journalist battling both evil criminals and dinosaurs (yes, really) in 1912. jdiff.com
TRISH DESEINE
Ireland's most famous culinary export to France since Kerrygold, the Belfast-born, Paris-based Deseine has been described as "France's Nigella". The cookery writer, television presenter and now chocolatier was a well-known cookbook writer in France several years before she began working in English (she was last seen on Irish screens in RTÉ's Trish's Mediterranean Kitchen). The epitome of foodie chic, she writes a column for both French Elle and Elle à Table. If anyone asks "you have Trish Deseine in Ireland too?", you can answer with a definite "Mais, oui!"
HAUTE CUISINE
Whatever about the rugby, we've got to admit that when it comes to food, the French have already beaten us. So why not give in and join them in one of Dublin's many French restaurants? Perhaps the most charming (and best value) is Chez Max, where you can pretend you're in Paris (even though it's right next to Dublin Castle) and enjoy everything from pain au chocolat for breakfast to moules frites for lunch. Chez Max, 1 Palace Street, Dublin 2, 01-6337215
YASMINA REZA
We love the ultra-cool and observant social commentary of this wry Parisienne writer, so we're looking forward to seeing her play,
God of Carnage, which opened at Dublin's Gate Theatre this week .
NUXE
Oh, Nuxe. Over the past few years, this staple of French chemists' shops has gradually infiltrated the Irish market, and its range of gorgeous eco-friendly beauty products is now stocked in Clery's as well as a select range of Irish pharmacies. Gone are the days when you had to spend a weekend in Paris to get your paws on a bottle of Huile Prodigieuse.
HOT FRENCH FICTION
The Anglophone world is shamefully resistant to the idea of reading books in translation, but a few French writers manage to break through. One of the most exciting novelists to emerge in recent years is Faïza Guène, whose stories of life in the French-Algerian banlieues have won international acclaim. Her third novel, the gritty whodunit Bar Balto, was published in English last month by Vintage (£11.99).
JAMES THIÉRRÈE
Paris-based James Thiérrée spent his childhood touring Europe with his family's theatrical circus show. He's also the grandson of Charlie Chaplin. So it's not surprising that he's a master of movement and physical comedy. His acclaimed show Raoul, which he describes as "a moving sculpture, with comic moments", is the story of a hermit whose peace is invaded by a usurper and some extraordinary animals (designed by his mother – what a family!). It's at the Abbey Theatre from February 18th to 26th.
Anna Carey
