Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain's visit to Tamil Nadu

On 19th - 20th December 2022, , the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, visited Chennai to boost cultural and economic ties in Tamil Nadu.
He was welcomed by the Consul General of France in Puducherry and Chennai, Ms Lise Talbot-Barré, and accompanied by Mr Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action, and Mr Bertrand de la Forest-Divonne, representative of the Regional Economic Service in Bangalore.

Ambassador Lenain inaugurated the new building of the Alliance Française of Madras, which enjoys an excellent reputation in Chennai for its top-notch French courses and vibrant cultural programmes. On average, over 2600 students enrol each year at the Alliance. The new building keeps pace with this growing interest in learning French, and reflects the dynamism of the Indo-French cultural collaboration.

On this occasion, the Ambassador also conferred the French honour of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on Mr Pravin Kannanur, president of Alliance Française of Madras, in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the arts, theatre, and cultural cooperation in France and India.

During this trip, Ambassador Lenain toured the Research and Development centre of French multinational automobile manufacturer Renault at Mahindra City. Here, he saw the project platform shared between France and India for certain core vehicles, the centre’s digital validation capabilities, and vehicle software and driver assistance capabilities.

Ambassador Lenain also toured the Lesage-owned Vastrakala, a Chennai-based luxury embroidery atelier. Opened in 1993 by Mr Jean-Francois Lesage along with Patrick Savouret, Malavika Shivakumar and Sandeep Rao, Vastrakala is an Indo-French success story in the fashion industry. Vastrakala craftspeople hand embroider designs with the very specific techniques used by the Paris-based House of Lesage.

On the occasion of his trip, Ambassador Lenain said: “France is deeply committed to increasing its presence in such a dynamic State as Tamil Nadu. That is why I inaugurated the new building of our Alliance française in Chennai, which will make French language and culture accessible to greater numbers. I also visited shining examples of how French companies bring skills and know-how, and set up state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu, contributing to the State’s economic success story.”