Political relations
Relations between France and Mexico are long-standing and were revamped during the State visits of President Hollande to Mexico (April 2014) and President Peña Nieto to France (July 2015). They are now enshrined in a strategic partnership, which has given rise to the conclusion of more than 100 agreements between our two countries in two years, in all areas of cooperation.
Visits
- 10-11 April 2014: State visit to Mexico by the French President.
- 26 November 2014: visit to Paris by the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs and meeting with Mr Laurent Fabius.
- 13-16 July 2015: State visit by the Mexican President, Mr Enrique Peña Nieto, guest of honour during the 14 July Bastille Day parade.
- 9-11 February 2016: visit by the French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad, Mr Matthias Fekl, for the inauguration of the Paris-Mexico City Airbus A380 line.
- 30 May-3 June 2016: visit by the French Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Ms Marisol Touraine.
- 4 October 2016: visit to France by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ms Ruiz Massieu, for the inauguration of the exhibition “Mexico (1900-1950)” at the Grand Palais.
- 8-10 March 2017: visit to Mexico by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
- 6 July 2017: visit to France by the Mexican President, Mr Enrique Peña Nieto, who met with the French President ahead of the G20 Summit.
- 20-22 October 2017: visit to Mexico by the Minister of Culture, Ms Françoise Nyssen for the Festival Internacional Cervantino of which France was the guest of honour.
- 1-2 November 2017: visit to Mexico by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian.
- 12 December 2017: participation of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray Caso and Secretary of Environment Rafael Pacchiano Alaman at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
- 15-16 March 2018: visit to Mexico by the Secretary-General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
- 16-17 April 2018: visit to France by the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray Caso to attend a Franco-Mexican Strategic Council meeting and he met with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
- 30 May 2018: first High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue with Undersecretary of Foreign Trade Juan Carlos Baker and Deputy Finance Minister and Undersecretary for Revenues Miguel Messmacher.
Economic relations
The French presence in Mexico is significant and promising. Around 500 French companies are established in Mexico (including most of our largest businesses) and cover a very broad spectrum of sectors. In 2016, France was Mexico’s 11ᵗʰ-largest global supplier and 4ᵗʰ in Europe (behind Germany, Spain and Italy), with a market share stable at around 1%.
French-Mexican trade has increased steadily since 2009 and reached a new high in 2016, exceeding 6 billion: €3.7 billion in exports against €2.5 billion in imports, with a French bilateral surplus of €1.2 billion.
Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation
Mexico is a crucial partner of our academic and scientific diplomacy in Latin America. The reciprocal State visits helped give new impetus to our cooperation, generating unprecedented mobilization (70 agreements signed).
France is Mexico’s third-largest scientific partner.
Drawing on more than 700 inter-university agreements and an agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas, France’s position as third-largest destination for Mexican students (almost 3,000 students) and the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in Mexico (1,500 students).
Useful links
Updated: October 2018
Mexico
