On July 14, H. E. Ms. Marie Dumoulin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria,

hosted a reception on the occasion of the country's national day. In the foyer and garden of the "Boyana" Residence, elegantly decorated specifically for the event, she welcomed numerous guests. Her invitation was honored by: the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Ms. Iliana Iotova, ministers, members of the National Assembly, ambassadors and diplomats, representatives of national and local institutions, business, civil society, French language teachers, scientists, journalists, intellectuals, and French nationals living in our country.

The event opened with performances of the anthems of France, Bulgaria, and the European Union by students from the choir of the "Alphonse de Lamartine" French Language High School in Sofia.

E. Ms. Marie Dumoulin then addressed the guests. In her speech, she shared that for her the moment was particularly special, as for the first time she had the honor of celebrating July 14 in her capacity as Ambassador of France, and she thanked everyone who had shown her friendship and honored her with their presence on this very special day. She also thanked Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who accepted the invitation of the President of the French Republic to mark July 14 in Paris.

She continued emotionally: "As you know, I took office as Ambassador of France a little over 10 months ago. These ten months were extremely full of discoveries, new knowledge, and meetings.

During these ten months, I made every effort to hold numerous meetings across all areas — of course, with political leaders, and I would like to thank the members of successive governments with whom I have had the honor of speaking, but also with Members of Parliament and local elected representatives, civil society activists, business leaders, journalists, teachers, researchers and university professors, as well as cultural figures — artists, writers, musicians, and many others. Each of these encounters gave me an opportunity to discover a different dimension of Bulgaria, to learn more about the country, and to try to better understand its path, its interests, and its expectations of France.

I also wanted, whenever possible, to go beyond Sofia and meet those who keep French-Bulgarian relations alive throughout the country: French companies, teachers at the French school in Varna and at the high schools in Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad and Kardzhali, members of the Alliance Française, custodians of the historical memory of French-Bulgarian relations, and participants in bilateral cooperation across all fields. Everywhere, I was warmly welcomed by people devoted to keeping these relations alive. My thanks to all of them!

Whenever possible, I also met with French communities in different parts of the country. I would like to thank all my fellow citizens who made the journey to celebrate July 14 with us this evening, and especially our security officers, who maintain contact with our community in all corners of the country."

Further in her speech, Her Excellency addressed relations between Bulgaria and France within the European Union:

"The past few months have been particularly eventful for Bulgaria. The country has achieved remarkable successes, beginning with its successful transition to the euro, which completes the process of its European integration and should further facilitate trade and investment. In a completely different spirit, Dara’s spectacular victory at the Eurovision Song Contest is an example of the recognition Bulgarian talent receives throughout Europe. And all of Europe will gather in Bulgaria next year for Eurovision 2027!

Bulgaria has also experienced a period of profound change: the protests in December 2025 demonstrated how strongly Bulgarians value transparency and the rule of law, as well as their expectations for more decisive action in the fight against corruption. For the first time in many years, the elections in April 2026 gave an absolute majority to the new government, together with the enormous responsibility of responding to these expectations for change.

France stands ready to assist Bulgaria in strengthening the rule of law, as the President of the French Republic assured Prime Minister Rumen Radev during their meeting in Paris on May 27. He also emphasized our strong desire to work with Bulgaria and all our European partners to build together a stronger, more resilient, and more sovereign European Union.

As we face upheavals in an increasingly harsh world, we must work together as Europeans to strengthen our Union, its resilience, and its sovereignty.

A stronger Europe is a Europe that continues to support Ukraine so that, when the time comes, it will be able to negotiate, alongside its European partners, the terms of a just and lasting peace. It is also a Europe that invests in modernizing its military capabilities and strengthening its defense and technological industrial base. France and Bulgaria are committed to this objective and are working to renew cooperation between industrial actors in our two countries.

A more resilient Europe is a Europe ready to invest in innovation, in reducing its dependencies, primarily in the energy sector, in combating climate change and protecting biodiversity, but also in supporting our farmers — the guarantors of our food sovereignty. Here too, France and Bulgaria can achieve more together, both bilaterally and within the European institutions.

Finally, a more sovereign Europe is a Europe capable of meeting international competition without abandoning its values. This means collectively investing in forward-looking fields such as artificial intelligence, space, and green technologies, while also working together to strengthen our democracies and foster greater cohesion within our societies. Promoting our values also means recognizing that diversity is a strength: the choice made every year by many Bulgarians to study French and pursue their education in France is a choice for openness and belonging to a space of diversity — our shared European characteristic."

At the conclusion of her speech, H. E. Ms. Marie Dumoulin thanked all Bulgarian partners, both within the institutions and in the economic, cultural, scientific, school and university communities, as well as in civil society. She welcomed the presence at the celebration of the Dignita Foundation, an organization dedicated to combating human trafficking and gender-based violence, and invited guests to visit its stand and, if they wished, support its work on behalf of victims of such violence.

She also thanked her colleagues from the diplomatic corps for the warm welcome they had given her; the companies that supported the organization of the reception; all members of Equipe France in Bulgaria; the directors of the French schools in Sofia and Varna; participants in the French Tech network; the associations Sofia Accueil and Le Souvenir Français; the French Foreign Trade Advisors and the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the team of the French Institute in Bulgaria; and, of course, her colleagues at the Embassy of France.

On behalf of Bulgaria, President Iliana Iotova delivered greetings on the occasion of the National Day of the French Republic.

Following the official part, the guests immersed themselves in conversation within the "French-style" elegant atmosphere of the reception, enjoying renowned French cheeses, champagne, and wines, as well as other delicacies.

Photos courtesy of the Embassy of the French Republic in the Republic of Bulgaria. Above: H. E. Ms. Marie Dumoulin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria, and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ms. Iliana Iotova.