Norway

French presence

Honorary Consulates: Ålesund, Bergen, Narvik, Stavanger, Tromso and Trondheim
French community in Norway: 5,100 people
Norwegian community in France: 7,000 people

Visits

Major recent visits include those of Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg to Paris on 27 February and 6 July 2018, during which she met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ms Solberg attended the ceremonies to commemorate the First World War Armistice centenary on 11 November 2018 and the Paris Peace Forum. On 23 May and 15 November 2019, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, received his Norwegian counterpart, Ms Ine Eriksen Søreide, in Paris. They also met on 20 November that year at the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels.

Ambassadors

Mr Pierre-Mathieu Duhamel has been the French Ambassador to Norway since April 2019.
Ms Oda Helen Sletnes has been the Norwegian Ambassador to France since January 2019.

For updates from the Embassy of Norway in France:

Website of the Norwegian Embassy in France
Facebook of the Norwegian Embassy in France
Instagram of the Norwegian Embassy in France
Twitter of the of the Norwegian Embassy in France

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

French is the fourth most-taught foreign language behind English, Spanish and German, with 50,000 pupils studying it. Our education provision in Norway includes the René Cassin French Lycée in Oslo (accredited by the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), which has some 600 pupils, almost two thirds of whom are Norwegian), and the French Lycée in Stavanger. France also has Norwegian sections in three French lycées (in Rouen, Bayeux and Lyon), the centenary of which was celebrated by both countries in 2018. Moreover, France is the eighth-largest destination for Norwegian students (300 in 2017)

In July 2008, France signed a cooperation agreement with Norway in the field of scientific and technical research and innovation. The programme for the training of Norwegian engineers at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Toulouse (NORGINSA), which has been in place since 1990, has been renewed through to 2020. The foundations of our cooperation include the integrated action programme “Aurora” and the French-Norwegian Foundation for Scientific and Technical Research and Industrial Development, which was created in 1983 to support short-term joint research.

In Svalbard, France and Germany share two scientific bases for research into glaciers, geology and the climate. At European level, we are collaborating in the EU Framework Research and Development Programme (FRDP). France is Norway’s fifth-largest European partner in terms of proposed projects, and third in terms of selected projects.

In the art field, the Embassy of France in Norway cooperates with many local operators, including the festivals which have a central role in Norwegian culture, such as the Bergen International Festival and Oslo’s International Ibsen Festival. Cinema also plays a key role in the work of the Embassy.