France and Peru

Political relations

Website of the French Embassy in Peru (in French)

Franco-Peruvian relations are friendly. They grew particularly strong during the Presidency of Mr Humala, between 2021 and 2016, as he spoke French and was a Francophile. He made three official visits to France and President François Hollande visited Peru in 2016, strengthening ties in all areas. At bilateral level, we maintain healthy cooperation in the education, science, academic and cultural fields. Bilateral consultations were held in March 2021.

The Peruvian Presidency of COP20 (December 2014 - November 2015) and French Presidency of COP21 (December 2015 - November 2016) enabled close bilateral cooperation on environmental protection and the fight against climate change.

More generally, Peru is an international partner for global challenges, in particular on environmental and human rights matters. During its term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2018 and 2019, Peru supported positions close to those of France.

French presence

French Consulate: Consular section at the French Embassy in Lima, Honorary Consulates in Arequipa, Cuzco and Piura
French community in Peru: 3,888 registered (88 % in Lima)
Peruvian community in France: estimated at 10,000

Visits

Former President Peruvian Humala (2011-2016) made several visits to France, in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He also took part, alongside President Hollande, in the COP21 opening ceremony in Paris on 30 November 2015.

François Hollande travelled to Peru for a state visit on 23-24 February 2016. Several bilateral agreements were signed during this visit, particularly in the areas of academia, economics and the environment, as well as a cooperation agreement between the Peruvian government and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency), and highlighted the French-Peruvian space partnership (the Peru Sat-1 satellite was successfully launched in September 2016).

President Kuczynski travelled to Paris on 7-10 June 2017 to take part in the International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean. On that occasion, he met with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace.

Ambassadors

French Ambassador to Peru: Mr Marc Giacomini
Peruvian Ambassador to France: Mr Rolando Javier Ruiz Rosas

Economic relations

Website of the Economic Service of the French Embassy in Peru: https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Pays/PE/les-echanges-commerciaux-france-perou-en-2017

Peru ranks no.72 among France’s trade partners and 9th in the Americas. Trade between France and Peru reached a record €815 million in 2021, and has been on the rise in recent years (with the exception of 2020, due to the pandemic) as our hydrocarbons imports increased along with our purchases of agricultural and agrifood products. French exports, 97% of which are made up of manufactured products (chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals), represent little. The commercial deficit stood at €397 million in 2021. In 2021, Peru ranked 92nd among our customers (7th in Latin America) and 64th among our suppliers (4th in Latin America), representing 0.08% of our foreign trade.

Our exports, 99% of which are manufactured products, reached €209 million in 2021. French purchases of Peruvian products stood at €606 million in 2021, and were mainly made up of agricultural products and hydrocarbons.

France is Peru’s 17th-largest investor with market share at less than 1%, far behind Germany, and even Spain and Italy. Engie and Vinci are the main French investors in Peru. French FDI stock stood at €226.4 million in 2021. There is however a greater presence of French companies, both in sales and investments, than it seems. A number of large French companies supply the Peruvian market from production and distribution centres in third countries. More than 90 French subsidiaries and representation offices are registered in Peru, employing almost 18,000 people.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

University exchanges draw on more than 226 cooperation agreements and an agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas signed in 2016. In 2019-2020, there were 1,120 Peruvian students in France, where they made up the fourth-largest contingent of Latin American students. Student exchanges dropped by half, however, in 2020, due to the public health crisis. France ranks as the sixth most popular host country for Peruvian students.

Our scientific cooperation is primarily focused on climate issues and research in health. It is essentially based around the IRD (French Research Institute for Development) and the IFEA (French Institute for Andean Studies), which have been in Peru for over 50 and 70 years respectively. These two research organizations are recognized by scientific bodies in Peru, both in the area of research and training doctoral students. Two doctoral schools, one in the area of life sciences and one relating to geosciences, energy and the environment were created in partnership with the IRD and several French and Peruvian universities. An ECOS Nord programme was launched in June 2019 with Peru, which is also involved in regional research programmes in Latin America such as Stic Amsud, Math Amsud and Climat Amsud. Heritage cooperation with Peru has been developed through a project to restore and promote the heritage of the Sondondo region.

Our cultural cooperation with Peru is also long-standing. It is governed by a cultural scientific and technical cooperation agreement, signed in 1972. Exchanges are well developed, particularly in the book industry, live entertainment and cinema.

The Alliances Françaises in Peru are spread across seven cities, with some 43,000 French language learners. The branch in Lima is the leading Alliance Française in Latin America, with almost 10,000 students. In February 2020, it celebrated its 130th anniversary.

Other cooperation

The AFD has been authorized to work in Peru since 2013, with sustainable cities, water and sanitation, energy efficiency and renewable energies its main fields of activity. It has had an office in Peru since 2015. The AFD Group has committed €500 million in financing thus far, mainly in the form of non-sovereign loans. One such loan was granted to the Peruvian fund, “Mi Vivienda”, a public social housing bank (€225 million).

A free trade agreement between the EU, Peru and Colombia has been in effect since 2013. This agreement eliminates customs tariffs on industrial and fishing products and reduces the other obstacles to trade by establishing common standards in intellectual property, transparency and competition. It also includes political clauses on disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and a suspensive clause on human rights and the implementation of international conventions on labour rights and environmental protection. Lastly, it includes a cultural cooperation protocol in the annexes.

^{Updated: August 2022}