 | |
 France |  Mexico |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of France, Mexico City | Embassy of Mexico, Paris |
| Envoy | |
| Anne Grillo | Blanca Jiménez Cisneros |
The nations ofFrance andMexico established diplomatic relations in 1830. Initially, relations between both nations were unstable as a result of France'sfirst andsecond interventions in Mexico. DuringWorld War II Mexico did not recognizeVichy France, instead it maintained diplomatic relations with theFrench government in exile inLondon. Diplomatic relations were restored between both nations at the end of the war in 1945 and have continued unabated since.[1]
Both nations are members of theG-20 major economies,Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and theUnited Nations.
In 1821, soon after obtaining independence from theSpanish Empire, EmperorAgustín de Iturbide of Mexico sent his foreign minister to the court of KingLouis XVIII to ask for recognition of the newly independent nation; however, King Louis XVIII refused to recognize Mexico because of its alliance with Spain.[1] On 26 November 1826, France proposed resolving the problem of recognition by establishing trade relations with a Mexican company, thus establishing unofficial relations with Mexico.[1] It was not until September 1830 that France recognized and established diplomatic relations with Mexico, following theJuly Revolution, the forced abdication of KingCharles X, and the removal of theHouse of Bourbon from power. That same year, both nations opened resident diplomatic legations in each country's capital, respectively.[1]
During the early years of their diplomatic relations, Mexico and France were not always on friendly terms, particularly with the beginning of thePastry War (November 1838 - March 1839), known also as theFirst French intervention in Mexico; where France invaded Mexico in order to collect re-compensation for property damaged and or looted by Mexican forces. During the war, France (with the assistance of the United States) blockaded Mexican ports thus crippling the economy. Three months later, Mexico agreed to pay France 600,000 pesos in compensation.[2]
TheSecond French intervention in Mexico began in December 1861, when EmperorNapoleon III invaded Mexico on the pretext that Mexico had refused to pay its foreign debt, though, in reality, the Emperor wanted to take advantage of theAmerican Civil War to expand his empire inLatin-America.[1] After a successful French invasion of Mexico, Napoléon III installed his Austrian cousin,Maximilian of theHouse of Habsburg, as Emperor of Mexico in 1864.[3]
For several years, Mexican rebels under PresidentBenito Juárez and with additional support from the United States fought against French and royalist troops.[1] Once theUnion won theAmerican Civil War in 1865, the U.S. allowed supporters of President Juárez to openly purchase weapons and ammunition and issued stronger warnings to Paris. The United States sent generalWilliam Tecumseh Sherman with 50,000 combat veterans to the Mexican border to emphasize that time had run out on the French intervention. Napoleon III had no choice but to withdraw his outnumbered army in disgrace. Emperor Maximilian refused exile and was executed by the Mexican government in 1867 inQuerétaro thus ending theSecond Mexican Empire.[3]
The events of the 1860 are commemorated in both France and Mexico to this day. In Mexico,Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexicans' victory over the French troops at theBattle of Puebla (5 May 1862). Another defeat of the French – the destruction of the small, but heroic,French Foreign Legion force at theBattle of Camarón (30 April 1863) – is annually commemorated by the French Foreign Legion as the "Camerone Day".
In 1911, Mexican PresidentPorfirio Díaz, a former general who fought against the French during the Second French Intervention in Mexico and aFrancophile, left Mexico for exile in Paris where he died in 1915 and is buried at theMontparnasse Cemetery.
In December 1926, the Mexican government purchased property onAvenue du Président-Wilson and onRue de Longchamp which are now the current Residence and embassy of Mexico in Paris.[1] In 1940, duringWorld War II, Mexico opened a consulate inMarseille to represent Mexico inVichy France and was led byGilberto Bosques Saldívar.[4] As consul, Bosques Saldívar issued approximately 40,000 visas toJews andSpanish Republicans fleeing to Mexico. In 1943, Bosques, his family, and 40 consular staff members were arrested by theGestapo and detained in a "hotel-prison" inGermany for a year before being released in 1944.[4]
In 1942, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the government of Vichy France and instead maintained diplomatic relations with the French government in exile (also known asFree France) led by General Charles de Gaulle inLondon.[1] Full diplomatic relations were restored between both nations at the end of the war in Europe in 1945.
In December 2005, a French citizen calledFlorence Cassez was arrested in Mexico and charged with kidnapping, organized crime and possession of firearms. She was found guilty by a Mexican court and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment. Cassez always maintained her innocence which began a diplomatic dispute between Mexico and France. At the time, PresidentNicolas Sarkozy asked the Mexican government to allow Cassez to serve her sentence in France, however the requests were denied.[5]
In 2009, Mexico cancelled its participation of 2011 "The Year of Mexico in France" (350 events, films, and symposium planned) as the French president Sarkozy declared that this year-long event was going to be dedicated to Cassez, and each individual event would have some sort of remembrance of the Frenchwoman.[6] In January 2013, theMexican Supreme Court ordered her release and Cassez was flown immediately back to France. Since her release, France pledged to assist Mexico in creating aGendarmerie in Mexico at the request of PresidentEnrique Peña Nieto.[7]
On 6 July 2017, Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron met in Paris, before theG-20 summit inHamburg,Germany. During their meeting, the leaders exchanged their views on trade, multilateralism, the fight against terrorism and climate change.
In July 2021, Mexican Foreign MinisterMarcelo Ebrard paid a visit to France and met with his counterpartJean-Yves Le Drian and with President Emmanuel Macron. During the visit, both nations discussed the currentCOVID-19 pandemic and both nations signed a declaration of intent on strengthening cooperation against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, in order to identify mechanisms to protect and curb the traffic and pillage of cultural property illegally extracted from Mexico and subsequently marketed.[8]
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High-level visits from France to Mexico[1]
High-level visits from Mexico to France
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Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Favorable Nation (1827); Agreement on Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (1886); Agreement on Copyright Protection (1950); Trade Agreement (1951); Agreement on Air Transportation (1952); Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1965); Agreement on Economic Cooperation (1981); Agreement of Cooperation betweenPemex andTotal S.A. (1981); Franco-Mexican Declaration onPolitical Violence in El Salvador (1981); Agreement on work and holiday visas (2011); Agreement on Cooperation in the peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy (2015); Agreement on Social Security (2015); Agreement on Mutual Academic Recognition (2015); Aeronautical Agreement (2015) and an Agreement of Cooperation between French and Mexican Universities (2015).[9]
In 2022, 258,000 French citizens visited Mexico for tourism.[10] That same year, 500,000 Mexican citizens visited France for tourism.[11] There are direct flights between France and Mexico with the following airlines:Aeroméxico,Air Caraïbes andAir France; with direct flights available from Cancún and Mexico City international airports to Paris.
France and Mexico do not presently share a land border, although in the 18th-centuryFrench Louisiana did borderNew Spain.
The closest land to the French PacificClipperton Island is Mexico, and the two countries disputed the island's ownership for several decades, until international arbitration finally awarded it to France in 1931.
In 1997, Mexico signed aFree Trade Agreement with theEuropean Union (which includes France). In 2023, two-way trade between France and Mexico amounted to US$5.6 billion.[12] France's main exports to Mexico include: medicine, vaccinations, automobile parts, helicopters, airplanes, perfumes, make-up and electrical equipment. Mexico's main export product to France include: telephones, petroleum based products, computers, medical devices, turbines, cables and automobile parts.[12] Over 550 French companies operate in Mexico and several Mexican multinational companies operate in France.
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