FRANCE wants to expand its cultural and arts collaborations with the new Pakatan Harapan government, said its ambassador to Malaysia, Frederic Laplanche.

“We want to cooperate with Malaysia on all aspects, (especially) in economy and defence, where we have strong traditional links (with Malaysia).

“We also want to do much more in education, culture, and the arts,” he said in Penang today.

The French embassy and the Penang government’s George Town Conservation and Development Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding to help the state develop an economy based on culture and creativity.

Laplanche said the new MoU was a good example of France’s intention to build closer links with Penang and Malaysia.

“We managed to sign this agreement just after the new government took office in Putrajaya and the new Penang chief minister took office here. The idea is to reproduce that in the future in all aspects.

“It has to go both ways. It is not about having a bigger French festival here in Malaysia, although we are trying to develop it further.

“It is also about having more Malaysian culture and arts in France. That is part of our objective. So, we are going to work on these new ambitions in the coming months,” he said.

The MoU will see Penang and France enhance their cooperation in arts, culture, heritage, and social development. It will develop expert and artist exchange programmes, and conduct capacity building and art activities between George Town and Arles – two Unesco world heritage cities.

As a start, the French government is supporting two Penang officers in culture management courses in France.

The two are Penang museum director and curator Haryany Mohamed and GTCDC’s Bharahi Suppiah.

Laplanche said the cultural managers from Penang will have access to the experience of their contemporaries in very big museums and in small towns like Arles that have a huge tourism and arts industry.  

“France is the largest recipient of international tourists in the world. We want to share these experiences with Malaysia and Penang.”

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state was happy to partner with France – a country with a cultural and creative economy estimated to be worth 104.5 billion euros (RM485.1 billion) in 2011.

“Culture is a renewable asset. We need to make our cultural institutions more resilient.

“We look forward to a closer cooperation with Arles, the first Unesco living heritage site in France,” he said. – June 2, 2018.