BY JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ
Photography by Mark Chester Ang
Beautiful and slender, she’s got the moves. But make no mistake — she is as graceful on the parquet as she is astute and seasoned on the diplomatic red carpet. Former adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, diplomat, wife, mother of three, and ballet and modern dancer Marie Fontanel is France’s new ambassador to the Philippines. She is driven by duty and purpose, and among her goals is to make the Philippines “a reflex for France.”
And for Ambassador Fontanel, being in the Philippines at this time is a crucial move for France and for her.
When asked to resume her career overseas after 20 years in France, she chose the Philippines.
“The Philippines was on the top of my list, I have to say, because this is the moment of the Philippines,” she said in an exclusive interview at the French Embassy residence in Makati City. Even if virtually unmade up, Mrs. Fontanel reminds one of a movie star. This she brushes off with a smile, obviously preferring real-life drama to reel. She points out instead the leading role the Philippines is playing in the Asia-Pacific stage, and France is definitely watching.
The diplomat, whose early moves in the Philippines included immersing herself in Intramuros, incognito, on a bike tour, hopes President Marcos embarks on a state visit to France soon, with French President Macron making a reciprocal state visit to the Philippines.
A former student of the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), with a master’s degree in Public Law (Panthéon-Assas) and a master’s degree in International and European Law (University of Utrecht), Ambassador Fontanel and Mr. Macron were classmates at the ENA.
“This will be in my action plan. We have to direct more the attention of the French community to the Philippines. I often use this term, ‘the Philippines should be a reflex for France,’ and I hope I can contribute under my term to make it a more spontaneous reflex for them to come and visit the Philippines. The Philippines is an option and not only for diving. It’s spectacular for French companies,” says Ambassador Fontanel.
“The relationship between the Philippines and France is not new at all. It’s strong in historical relationship. But, for many reasons, the recent period has opened the door even more than before, maybe because first of all, France is a Pacific country. We have overseas territories in the Pacific region, so we naturally are concerned by the region. A few years ago, we really assessed that, yes, we have to be more than concerned. We have to have a strategy and an action plan and to get more involved in the Pacific region.”
She believes the Philippines is a strategic player in the region.
“It probably was already, but maybe we didn’t look at it like that. And, I have to be honest, in France for many years, the Philippines was not on the map, I would say. Of course it was on the map, obviously, but we didn’t have this history with your country, colonial history.”
She elaborates: “We had more focus on China, Vietnam and Cambodia, etc., which are the countries that I knew more about before getting interested in the Philippines. Paris, for many reasons, had other concerns, and it is still not natural or spontaneous for many of my French compatriots to know much about the Philippines. Politically, from the diplomatic point of view, no doubt that now — we are really interested and concerned and we really assess the strategic position of the Philippines.”
From France to Vietnam
The articulate diplomat met her husband Alain, now the economic counselor of the French Embassy in Manila, when they were both assigned in Hanoi over 20 years ago, and eventually married there. They lived in France following their marriage.
“I loved Vietnam for sure, but I also had other, other dreams. So, I first worked for the Ministry of Social Affairs. I was Inspector General for Social Affairs. And then I worked in the health sector. I also worked in a museum in Paris.”
The eldest daughter of two judges who always dreamt of being a civil servant herself, Mrs. Fontanel was President Macron’s counselor on social and health affairs from 2017 to 2020. He then appointed her as ambassador and permanent representative of France to the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2023 in Strasbourg. The council is composed of 46 countries.
She was involved in both the political campaigns of President Macron and her husband Alain, who was once deputy mayor of Strasbourg.
“And then at some point when I had the chance to join the foreign office, I was mature enough probably to see that, well, now it’s time for me also to contribute and to make diplomacy benefit also from all my experiences. I think I can add something different compared to maybe someone who had been there all the time. It’s another view on situations,” she says.
A former professional life coach as well, she considers herself a hands-on executive who chooses to lead by example.
“I’m a hard worker, and I think you always have to lead by example, so you cannot expect your team to be hard workers if you’re not a hard worker yourself,” she shares. She says her boss, President Macron, “is the person who works more than is humanly possible.”
As she is able to balance herself on the barre, Ambassador Fontanel, who also practices yoga, finds that she can balance home and career as well — with the right moves.
“It’s difficult, but as a mom of three, I think I have the kind of obligation to and responsibility to balance a professional life and personal life. My children have been used to living in a home where their dad was a politician. The limit and the border between political, personal and professional life were not always easy. And now with me as an ambassador, it’s a bit the same — the difference between job and life is not easy.”
She admits politics and diplomacy are often on the menu during lively family dinners. Sundays, husband, wife and kids bond over board games. Marie Fontanel, whether playing chess or monopoly on the coffee table, or negotiating treaties on the boardroom table, whether balancing on tiptoes in ballet or on her head in yoga, has definitely got the moves.
