The next day was our last day together and we started it with a visit to M. Jacques Raharinaivo with the French Ambassador for the Poles & Maritime issues team. The ambassador himself was unfortunately not back yet from the Pacific but we were very well taken care of by M. Raharinaivo and his intern M. Sammy Beauvillain. It is apparent that the marine and maritime questions are very important to France, and I am glad that there is a vision of international collaborative management and responsibility of ocean and climate issues.
The last hours in Paris, we spent walking along Champs-Élysées, buying macarons and drinking café au lait, stopping traffic to get a picture of Arc du Triomphe and taking hundreds of photos of La tour Eiffel,
passing markets on small streets and finally ending up with a marvellous view of the Paris sunset in Montmartre. A great ending to our little adventure in France!
Once I got back to my research unit (Maritime Environmental Sciences) at Chalmers University of Technology, I decided to do a friendly French takeover to share all of my experiences with my colleagues and present some of the opportunities that France and Brest can offer. With the French pastry in fresh memory, I found a local boulangerie so that my colleagues would get the full French experience. The presentation was appreciated, and I hope it can result in further collaborations and research exchanges.
Thank you, Institut Francais, for giving me the opportunity to go to Brest and Paris and explore the marine sciences of France!
Anna Lunde Hermansson 2022-10-20