The posting in Washington has always been considered a plum but important ambassadorship. “In fact, I was not dreaming to come here,” Bili said. He expected his posting in China to last for at least another six months and was not searching for a new job. The assignment was not one Bili had been seeking. "I’m … maybe a more introverted guy."īili thought he would remain in China, which was just beginning to reopen, until he received the call that would land him in Washington. The next evening, he hosted Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at an event toasting the First Amendment.ĭiplomats sometimes have different styles, Bili said. He held his first function – a reception at the ambassador’s residence honoring International Women’s Day – four days into his tenure in Washington. Here, lawmakers, journalists, administration officials and foreign envoys routinely mingle and exchange ideas at cultural events.Īlthough he is more eager to provide insight on how to avoid a conflict with China than he is to rub elbows with a packed room full of guests, Bili has sought to leave his own mark on the position by hosting parties with a purpose. There, he said, diplomacy is a very sober affair. have been known for their party diplomacy – a brand of soft power that Bili said is a striking contrast to his experience in Beijing. He eventually became ambassador to Turkey, Brazil and, later, China.įrance’s recent ambassadors to the U.S. He discovered through the experience that diplomacy was a real line of work that would also allow him to travel. The soft-spoken diplomat from Brittany, in western France, said he was inspired to join the foreign service in his youth after a meeting a group of Finnish diplomats while he was hitchhiking in Peru. The first in his family to graduate from high school, he did not envision himself working in a field that required him to learn foreign languages. “I get the impression that my eyes are a bit deeper,” Bili said in an interview, pointing to his slightly sunken under eyes as he made light of the exhaustive pace. ![]() Yet, he's still a little overwhelmed by the carousing that takes place in Washington, nearly three months into the job. ![]() The career diplomat has since traded isolation and PPE for cocktail parties and passed hors d'oeuvres. ![]() A visit to France during the pandemic required a three-week quarantine upon his return and meals served by tray table that were left at his door.īili spent the first few weeks of the pandemic prospecting personal protective equipment, helping embassy staff find masks and other medical gear at the best prices, on behalf of the government in Paris. He arrived in Beijing four months before the country went into lockdown, rendering China's capital city a ghost town. WASHINGTON - On his first day as France’s ambassador to the United States, Laurent Bili faced a terrifying decision: Which of the two receptions that he’d been invited to was he going to attend?įor the self-described introvert, it was a bit of a nightmare.īili, 62, had a total of three visitors in three years at his last posting in China, and one of them was his wife, Sabine. Watch Video: Bidens host state dinner for France
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