France’s ambassador to Arnaud Suquet during Ukraine’s National Day celebrations at the Alliance Francaise, Nairobi. May 19th,2023. [File, Standard] On July 14, 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille, a symbol of monarchical power. While this event marked a turning point in French history, the revolution’s broader legacy lies in the values it helped shape: Freedom, equality and shared belief in human dignity. These ideals — embodied in the 1789 French Declaration of Human Rights— helped inspire later global milestones such as the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Kenya’s national anthem — “Natukae na…
Author: By Arnaud Suquet
From June 9 to the 13, 2025, France will co-host with Costa Rica, the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (better known as UNOC3). By doing so, we will take the baton from Portugal and Kenya which jointly hosted the last UNOC in 2022 in Lisbon. For this crucial event, around 100 Heads of State and Government will converge in Nice, south of France, as well as tens of thousands of leaders, researchers, scientists, economic actors, activists and citizens from around the world. France’s aim is clear: Protecting our ocean through tangible action. The ocean is our common good. It feeds and…