France–Latvia relations
Bilateral relations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
France–Latvia relations are the bilateral relations between France and Latvia. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, European Union, NATO and the Eurozone.
History
France recognized Latvia on 26 January 1921. France never recognised the annexation of Latvia by the former Soviet Union. France re-recognized Latvia on 27 August 1991 and both established diplomatic relations on 30 August 1991.[1]
Since 2008, Latvia is an observer on the Francophonie.
High level visits
High-level visits from France to Latvia
- On 21–22 May 2015, President François Hollande travelled to Riga to participate in the 2015 Eastern Partnership Summit.[2] Side talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras were held on Greek debt.[3]
- On 29–30 September 2020, President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Riga and met with President Egils Levits and Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš.
High-level visits from Latvia to France
- On 17 April 2019, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš in Strasbourg addressed the European Parliament, arguing that it was "useless" to just fight against the rise of populism, and that it was necessary in the first place to understand the grievances of people who listened to the promises of populists.[4]
- On 1 December 2021, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš met with President Emmanuel Macron and Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.[5]
- On 1 October 2024, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa attended the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Cessy, near Geneva. During this visit, she toured the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) cavern and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel. This event was significant as it marked a milestone in scientific collaboration and innovation.[6]
- On 27 March 2025, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa attended a meeting of the "Coalition of the willing" in Paris hosted by President Macron.[7]
