Pascal Le Hen of France

Bucharest and Bordeaux are at the same latitude, but they couldnt be further apart. Pascal Le Hen shuttles between them: “Even though the environs of Bordeaux and the south west of France are generally beautiful, and life there is pleasant, I confess that I prefer living in Bucharest, especially on weekends, which are much more lively than in Bordeaux. I am Breton in origin, but I decided to live in Bordeaux for the quality of life. Even so, I am fanatical when it comes to Bucharest. I discovered it over 10 years ago, in 2003, for professional reasons at first. Little by little, I started visiting more often, and one day, around 2005 and 2006 I decided to stay. I was in a continuous to and fro in various countries, I was into cross-border cooperation, but I picked Bucharest as my base because I found the city very pleasant.

Roxana Vasile, 10.09.2015, 18:01

Bucharest and Bordeaux are at the same latitude, but they couldnt be further apart. Pascal Le Hen shuttles between them: “Even though the environs of Bordeaux and the south west of France are generally beautiful, and life there is pleasant, I confess that I prefer living in Bucharest, especially on weekends, which are much more lively than in Bordeaux. I am Breton in origin, but I decided to live in Bordeaux for the quality of life. Even so, I am fanatical when it comes to Bucharest. I discovered it over 10 years ago, in 2003, for professional reasons at first. Little by little, I started visiting more often, and one day, around 2005 and 2006 I decided to stay. I was in a continuous to and fro in various countries, I was into cross-border cooperation, but I picked Bucharest as my base because I found the city very pleasant.

In 2010, while the economic crisis was at its deepest, Pascal Le Hen returned to his native country, but came back, and right now he is involved in a couple of projects with Romanian partners. He told us briefly about one of them: “This is a project which we could start around the city of Satu Mare, in northern Romania, in rural development, based on the fair trade principle, which could result in exporting finished products from agriculture, to France and other states.

In the meantime, Le Hen is the head of the Amicale France Roumanie friendship association: “This is an initiative years in the making. A lot was said about the negative image of Romania which the French press was promoting, by generalizing the behavior of a minority of a minority. I told myself this was not normal, especially given the very close relationship between Romania and France, since the times of Napoleon III, so I thought something had to be done. Two years ago, I wanted to see first of all if there are still people open to this concept of friendship between the two countries. We were about 40, and created a small Facebook group. Gradually, a few hundred, then a few thousands joined. If we add the other side groups we formed over time, we have about 13,000 members. Last year at the seaside we saw a great deal of interest. 40 people joined into a founding General Assembly, we set up the association. Most group members are Romanian, many living abroad, but we also have French people, Moldovans, Belgians, Swiss people… we also have North Africans who study in Romania. Our slogan is ‘The Adventure Begins. Our vision is not passé, on the contrary, it looks to the future.

Among other things, the Facebook page of the group features updates on the Romanian press, articles about France from the Romanian press, as well as articles about Romania for France. There are also commentaries and explanations when needed. As Le Hen put it, ‘we dont miss a thing.

Pascal Le Hen: “We start very early in the morning, because the first agency which publishes a press review does so at 3 AM. If we are available, and I am referring to the four of us who do this, we may start even as early as 3 AM. Around 6 or 7 oclock in the morning, we already have all the press reviews, as well as the days calendar.

The association also helps Romanians in France deal with bureaucratic matters, and puts them in touch with people or institutions that can help them. Cases are extremely diverse. In other words, the volume of work is staggering, which does not prevent Pascal from doing everything on time, but also take walks through Bucharest or around the country.

Pascal Le Hen: “I appreciate a lot of places, even though there are many I have missed. For instance, Transylvania, which I have not visited enough. Then I also have lots of small pleasures, like just sitting on a bench in Cismigiu Park in Bucharest. I absolutely love it!

One of the things that Pascal told us he particularly likes is the spontaneity and quality of hospitality that Romanians display towards visitors and foreigners.