In her first year as Ambassador of France to the Philippines, the soft-spoken and elegant Marie Fontanel has helped usher in a flurry of firsts in diplomacy— further strengthening the ties that bind the two countries.
By JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ
On Dec. 2, 2023, the Philippines’ National Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. sat down with the French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, to discuss the current regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It was history in the making, to say the least.
“That was the very first time that a French Minister of the Armed Forces visited the Philippines,” says Fontanel, whose team in Manila was instrumental in making it happen. “It is telling of the fact that we do want to scale up now, that we want to enhance the level of our strategic partnership with the Philippines.”
A few months later, France and the Philippines also announced that they had started discussing a defense pact that would allow troops from each country to hold exercises in the other’s territory.
France also participated for the first time in the 2024 Balikatan exercise last April, where it sent a frigate that was engaged actively in the exercise. “We had many port calls and that was not new, but the stopover of the French Air Force was the first. We could tell from this year that there has been growing interactions between our armed forces,” she adds.
Many consider these to be a boon for the Philippines, especially when it comes to its ongoing struggle in the West Philippine Sea.
“We have also welcomed new colleagues at the embassy, particularly a defense mission, which was not a resident in the Philippines before. So it really means that France wants to invest in this country,” says the ambassador, whose growing team in Manila also moved offices from The Pacific Star Building to Ayala Triangle Gardens this year.
Something “Blue”
Territorial disputes and political tension aren’t the only things Fontanel is hoping to address in our nearby seas, either. The Embassy of France in Manila also launched the “Blue Nations” Initiative, a comprehensive program that prepares both countries for the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) that will happen sometime in June 2025.
The project reflects the shared commitment of France and the Philippines to protecting the ocean and the climate. It also seeks to build on the longstanding cooperation between the two countries, and aims to enhance political, scientific and civic engagement in the fields of environmental protection, climate action, blue economy and maritime security.
“Our countries have a lot in common, especially since we are two maritime nations. We are very open to oceanic questions in general and also very keen on the International Law of the Sea,” she expounds. “The Blue Nations Initiative is an international conference where we will touch upon different issues, such as international law and also scientific and practical approach towards financing and tackling climate change issues, and fighting against pollution in the sea, among others.”
The diplomat, who was previously posted as ambassador and permanent representative of France to the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2023 in Strasbourg, has always been convinced that the Philippines would be an excellent partner for the conference, which was launched in the presence of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and climate change warrior Sen. Loren Legarda, among others, last June 5.
Expected yet unexpected
It’s been a busy first year indeed for Fontanel, who previously served as President Emmanuel Macron’s counselor on social and health affairs from 2017 to 2020. Busy, but not entirely surprising.
“I knew that the Philippines was starting to become more on the map of the French authorities and the French people. But it’s even more than what I expected. Now, the window is really open for enhancing our partnership on both sides. That was maybe why I was not surprised,” she says.
Despite having done her homework and knowing her marching orders — which is to enhance the level of partnership between the two countries, which celebrate 77 years of bilateral relations in 2024 — Fontanel was positively surprised to learn that the same rang true for the Philippine government. “When I arrived here, I confirmed that the Philippines was also on the same page. And the Filipino authorities expressed the same will to do more and do things together,” she says.
Fontanel also considers it a blessing to be posted in a country that shares the same family, personal and democratic values that she puts in high regard. And, of course, there’s the local destinations!
Asked which ones are her favorites, the diplomat makes a “difficult” decision. “There are so many, but If I had to pick one, it would probably be Palawan, where I had a chance to visit pearl farms by a French-Filipino company. It’s fabulous! It’s just heaven probably so I would pick and choose Palawan. But once again, it doesn’t pay tribute to the rest of the country that I discovered and I always like discovering more!”
It’s never too late
Despite her obvious passion for her job, Fontanel tells PeopleAsia that she tarried a bit before resuming her career in foreign service. “Back in my twenties, I was not mature enough and I didn’t see the point to this profession,” she admits.
“I wanted to act, I wanted to be on the field, I wanted to manage teams, I had other expectations. And it took me more than 20 years of a professional career in other fields before I went back on the diplomatic track,” she says.
A lady of many interests, Fontanel is also a trained dancer. And while making a career out of it was never an option, she does see some common ground between the stage and the diplomatic arena. “I think the ‘balance’ that is required for being a dancer is also very useful for being a diplomat. Diplomacy is about talking to everyone trying to find compromise, continuing to work and to talk to people who don’t always agree all the time. So you always have to find the balance in diplomacy,” explains the former student of the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), who has a master’s degree in Public Law (Panthéon-Assas) and International and European Law (University of Utrecht).
Fulfilling career aside, diplomacy has sent her heart aflutter in more ways than one. It was in the field, after all, that she met her then future husband Alain, when they were both assigned in Hanoi, Vietnam, over 20 years ago. They now have three children.
So how does it work when mom and dad are both diplomats? Quite swimmingly, it seems, in the Fontanel household. And while balancing the personal with the professional can be quite demanding from time to time, the couple do not allow their high-flying careers to pull them in separate directions. “It is an asset because we can share a lot and we do talk a lot. At the same time, it means that we have to combine both our careers. So we often say that each time it’s one’s turn — so now it’s my turn,” she says with a smile.
And what a turn it’s turning out to be!
Photography by DIX PEREZ
Art direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERA
Hair and makeup by FLOE TAPNAYAN for L.A. GIRL
