 | |
 Croatia |  France |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Croatia inParis, France | Embassy of France inZagreb, Croatia |
The foreign relations betweenCroatia andFrance are bound together by shared history, political development, geography, religion and cultural commonalities. With an extensive history between the two states, modern relations commenced in 1992, following thedissolution of Yugoslavia and theindependence of Croatia. Relations are warm and friendly with strong bilateral collaboration.[1][2] The two nations have connectivity through tourism, immigration, foreign aid, and economic mutualism.
French interests in Croatia are centered on the state'sstabilizing influence in Southeast Europe and extending the global reach of jointly-heldWestern ideals. France and Croatia are close military allies with a robustdefense industrial base. Both are members ofNATO. Croatia was part of France during the early 1800s as theIllyrian Provinces under theFirst French Empire.[3][4] They maintain multiple free-trade agreements between themselves in theEurozone and share theeuro (€) currency.
They shareRoman Catholicism as a major religion,football as a national sport, andtri-color flags. Both countries are members theEuropean Union,United Nations, and theWorld Trade Organization. Croatia has been an observer of theFrancophonie since 2004. France maintains an embassy inZagreb with Croatia holding an embassy inParis;[5][6] there are also a French consulate inSplit, Croatia and Croatian consulates inLyon andToulouse.[7][8][9]
The connection between France and Croatia began with the spread ofmonasteries in Croatia by FrenchBenedictine monks during the 800s and early 900s.[10] Religious diffusion between the two regions began with France's influence on Croatian Catholicism.[10] In 925, Croatia was elevated to the status of Kingdom and the notions of nobility quickly followed.[10] Over the coming centuriesCroatian nobility assumed French practices to great controversy.[10] This contributed to wide spread political andsocial elitism among the nobles and monarch. The nobility regarded the peasant class as an unseen and irrelevant substrata of people which lead to high causalityrevolts andbeheadings as well as sporadic periods of intense domestic violence.[10] This strained ties with French culture and lead the people of Croatia to denounce French elitism. In 1040, Frenchliturgical books andreliquaries were brought toZagreb to create its firstDiocese.[10]
French historian of theFourth Crusade,Geoffroi de Villehardouin, described inOld French Zagreb as "one of the best fortified cities in the world" later adding "that no more beautiful, stronger nor richer city could be found."[3] During the 14th century, French began to be diffused into Croatian society starting in Zagreb.[10] Many of the Croatian elite studied at the FrenchSorbonne during the later 15th century and influenced thepolitical landscape of the country for decades to come. One of the most prominent members was Saro Gučetić, who, upon request of the French KingFrancis I withSuleiman the Magnificent, negotiated secret pacts with neighboring countries.[3] The expansion of literature in France during the early 16th century lead to many Croatian writers to be translated into French for the public.[3] The first diplomatic relation between France and Croatia was the establishment of a consulate in Dubrovnik. The growing connection between the two countries was known as thefrančezarije, and was formalized with the first French Masonic lodge in Croatia. As the1789 French Revolution progressed, theideas of enlightenment deeply influenced Croatian society, which lead to the creation of Jacobin clubs in Zagreb and Dubrovnik.[3]
During the expansion ofNapoleon Bonaparte'sFirst French Empire, large parts of Croatia were controlled by the French leading to the creation of theIllyrian Provinces.[3] In 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte and his administration established this territory inLjubljana (Laybach) as an extension against theAustrian Empire in what mostly comprised modern day Croatia and parts ofSlovenia. The provinces had four governors during its existence:Auguste de Marmont,Henri Gatien Bertrand,Jean-Andoche Junot, andJoseph Fouché.[3] During French rule the official languages of the autonomous province wereFrench,Croatian,Italian,German, andSlovene. Although the French did not entirely abolish thefeudal system,[3] their rule familiarized in more detail the inhabitants of the Illyrian Provinces with the achievements of theFrench Revolution and with contemporarybourgeois society.[3] They introduced equality before the law,compulsory military service and a uniform tax system, and also abolished certain tax privileges, introduced modern administration, separated powers between the state and the church (the introduction of thecivil wedding, keeping civil registration of births etc.), and nationalized the judiciary. The occupants made all the citizens theoretically equal under the law for the first time.[3]
French rule in the Illyrian Provinces was short-lived, yet it significantly contributed to greater national self-confidence and awareness of freedoms, especially in the Slavic nations as exampled in postYugoslavian independence Croatia, and Slovenia. The influence of the Illyrian Territories and the rejection of Austrian rule, has prompted aFrench cultural diffusion andnational appreciation in certain areas of the countries that made up the providences that last to this day. In Croatia, the cities and towns ofZagreb,Split,Rijeka,Osijek,Zadar, andVelika Gorica have distinct French and Illyrian customs that remain a remnant of 19th century French rule.[11] In Slovenia and Montenegro, streets and small regions are named after governors of the providences and Bonaparte.[3] During this time the spread ofIllyrian movement was expansive in France and lead to the creation of the seminal work:Les peuplesde l’Autriche et dela Turquie; histoire contemporaine desIllyriens, des Magyars, desRoumains et des Polonais, which served as an "introductory study on Croatia and the Illyrian Movement."[3] During the 1860s, the Croatian school system began to introduce French as a language of study and formally integrated into the national curriculum in 1876.[3] French writerÉmile Zola–a descendant ofZadar–was one of the most prominent writers of this movement.[3]
During the later 1950s, thecapital of Croatia became a cultural center mostly due to the fact thatYugoslavia was not aligned with any sovereign state. French philosopherJean-Paul Sartre visited Zagreb in 1960 and met with prominent Croatian writers and philosophers.[3] With thecollapse of Yugoslavia, Croatia struggled to be internationally recognized. French intellectuals such asMirko Dražen Grmek–a native Croat and naturalized Frenchman–helped attract high-profile French figures to recognize Croatia.[3]
France recognized Croatia on 15 January 1992 and established diplomatic relations three months later.[1] President of CroatiaIvo Josipović was invited byFrancois Hollande to celebrate theNational Day of France in July 2013.[1] Minister of State for European AffairsHarlem Désir visited Croatia on July 14, 2015 to celebrate French Independence Day and met with Prime MinisterZoran Milanović.[1]
Croatia and France are close military allies and share a robust bilateraldefense industrial base.[12] Croatia joined France inNATO in 2009, effectively establishing adefense pact between the two countries throughArticle 5. France is the largest foreign supplier of Croatian military equipment in Europe. In 2021, both nations signed a large-scale arms deal facilitating the procurement of 12Dassault Rafale fighter jets to Croatia by 2025.[12]
After the2022 Tu-141 drone crash in Zagreb, France dispatched two fighter jets from aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle in a show ofmilitary strength for Croatia.[13][14] Immediately after, Croatia purchasedsurface-to-air missile (SAM) air defense systemsMistral andVL MICA from France.[15][16]
The two states share euro currency through with their memberships of the European Union and Eurozone. French companies tend to develop the transport infrastructure in Croatia.[1] The construction of theZagreb Airport through the Bouygues-Aéroports de Paris (ADP) investment of €250-€300 million in 2012 substantially increased the public perception of France in Croatia.[1] Their trading agreement and activity reached a market value of €535 million in 2015 (+16.3% compared to 2014).[1] France accounted for 2.3% of Croatia's total trade in 2014, making it the 10th largest trading partner. French exports to Croatia amounted to €364 million in 2015 (+17% compared to 2014) which marks a sharp increase from the previous five years of stagnation and decline.[1] Croatia supplied €171.3 million worth of imports to France in 2015. France is the seventh-largest investor in Croatia with annual investments of €651 million inFDI.[1]
The two countries have inter-parliamentary exchanges. In 2009, Croatia served as a temporary member of theUnited Nations Security Council with France.[17][18][19] France created Croatia's "administrative adaptation processes" that helped it become the 28th EU state.[1] In January 2013, Croatia's EU Treaty was ratified by theFrench Parliament.[1] French Minister Delegate for European AffairsThierry Repentin visited Zagreb in 2013 in support of its membership in the EU.[1] After the2015 Paris terrorist attacks the government of Croatia made November 16, 2015 a nationalmourning day in the country and flew their flags half mast.[20] Croatian Prime MinisterZoran Milanovic marched in Paris with the "March for Democracy" to grieve the victims.[21]
Croatia and France share five twin towns and sister cities between themselves.
Rueil-Malmaison /Paris and
DubrovnikVillefranche-de-Rouergue /Aveyron andPulaAuxerre,Burgundy andVaraždinRomans-sur-Isère /Drôme andZadarSaint-Dié-des-Vosges andCrikvenicaThe French government expressed interest in May 2017 of "twinning" with the following Croatian cities:[1]
The football teamsof France andof Croatia began competing against each other in a series of friendlyexhibition games, but since 1998 their encounters have become increasingly competitive.[22] As both countries have thered-white-blue tricolor, matches between the two are nicknamedLe derby tricolore ("Tricolor Derby") orTrobojnica ("Tricolor" game). During the1998 World Cup, both France and Croatia reached their then-pinnacle of international prowess after the former won the tournament after defeating the latter who took third place. Twenty years later, the two teams battled the2018 World Cup final where France overcame Croatia 4–2 to secure the trophy.[23][24] Similarly to 1998, the match with France elevated Croatia toits highest-ever ranking with runners-up positioning. The two teams have competed against each other six times with France winning four matches, and drawing two.[22]
The national tennis teamsof Croatia andof France contested the2018 Davis Cup final with Croatia winning its second title.[25]
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