Austria

French presence

In addition to the French Embassy, France has two Permanent Representations, to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), headquartered in Vienna.
Consulates: One consular section in Vienna and five honorary consulates.
Number of French nationals: 11,342.

Visits

• The French Minister Delegate for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, took part in the OSCE Ministerial Council, and met with his counterpart Claudia Plakolm (Vienna, 4 December 2025)
• The Austrian Federal Chancellor, Christian Stocker, had a working meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace (Paris, 18 July 2025)
• The Austrian Federal Minister of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure, Peter Hanke, made an official visit for a working meeting with his French counterpart, Minister for Transport Philippe Tabarot (Paris, 26 June 2025)
• Austrian State Secretary Sepp Schellhorn took part in the Festival of Art History at the Château de Fontainebleau (at which Austria was the guest country in 2025), met with Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, spoke with the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Mathias Cormann (Fontainebleau and Paris, 6 June 2025) and took part in the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice (Nice, 9 June 2025)
• The Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, had a working meeting with his French counterpart Bruno Retailleau in Paris (Paris, 19 May 2025)
• The Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Claudia Plakolm, had a working meeting with her counterpart Benjamin Haddad in Paris, and took part in and spoke at the ELNET International Policy Conference (EIPC) (Paris, 19 May 2025)
• The French Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Annie Genevard, had a working meeting with her counterpart Norbert Totschnig (Vienna, 16 May 2025)
• Austrian Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and State Secretary Claudia Plakolm took part in the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron (Paris, 10 and 11 February 2025)
• Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer attended the ceremony for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, representing Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen (Paris, 7 and 8 December 2024)
• Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer had a working meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron (Paris, 4 April 2024)

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

French remains the most widely studied foreign language in Austria after English (10% of pupils take French). Since 2006, Austria has been an observer member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). The Austrian Institut Français organizes numerous events each year in March, during the Month of La Francophonie (conferences, events with award-winning authors, the Francophone Comedy Festival, etc.).

Our cultural relations are particularly rich, thanks to an exceptional network of Austrian cultural partners. Our cultural cooperation is implemented by the Austrian Institut Français based in Vienna (http://institut-francais.at).

Founded in 1946, the Lycée Français de Vienne (French School of Vienna) enrols nearly 1,800 pupils, at every stage of schooling. Nearly a third of its pupils are Austrian, a third are French, and a third are of other nationalities.

Academic and education cooperation programmes are significant and diverse. A memorandum of understanding between Education Ministers, valid until the end of 2027, provides for an exchange programme for general education students who have studied a foreign language for at least two years, as well as measures to increase mobility in vocational education and training, encourage cooperation between French and Austrian regional education authorities, and strengthen the bilateral language assistant programme. There are currently 13 dual degrees and 11 joint programmes between higher education institutions. French and Austrian institutions are partners within 14 European Universities alliances.

With regard to vocational training, the Austrian system, based on sandwich course programmes, is considered to be highly effective. Austria is interested in French Campus des Métiers vocational training hub projects and is open to joint efforts to promote wider participation in Erasmus+. Several partnership agreements have been signed between French administrative regions and Austrian states (Hauts-de-France/Upper Austria, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté/Styria).

France ranks fifth among Austria’s scientific partners. Cooperation is being developed between laboratories and research institutions (CNRS, INSERM, and CEA, three university partnerships concluded in 2021) as well as within the framework of the Amadeus programme, a Hubert-Curien Partnership (11 projects supported each year). 

Other cooperation

With 2025 marking Austria’s celebration of the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the 70^th anniversary of the State Treaty re-establishing its full independence, and the 30^th anniversary of its accession to the EU, a shared commitment to historical remembrance contributes to strengthening our bilateral relationship. The current government wishes to better coordinate major commemorations and improve their visibility, in particular in cooperation with France, which plays an active role. The anniversary of the liberation of the camps represented an important time of remembrance, with ceremonies held on 11 May 2025 marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen camp, at which France was represented by its Ambassador, three members of parliament, around 100 members of the French Amicale de Mauthausen association, and 80 students with their teachers. The post-war years and French presence in part of Tyrol, Vorarlberg and a section of Vienna (1945-1955) make up a period of increasing interest. After commemorations in Innsbruck on 9 May 2025, attended by the French Ambassador, and in St. Anton am Arlberg, attended by the First Counsellor, on 17 October 2025, marking the 43rd anniversary of the death of General Béthouart, who left a strong legacy, this period will also be commemorated by the 80^th anniversary of the Lycée Français de Vienne (founded in 1946 by General Béthouart), as part of celebrations of the centenary of France’s cultural presence in Austria.