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French-Romanian relations are bilateral foreign relations between France and Romania. Diplomatic relations between the two countries date back to 1880, when mutual legations were opened, although contacts between France and Romania's precursor states stretch into the Middle Ages. [1]
Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the European Union and NATO. Since 1993, Romania is a member of the Francophonie. France has given full support to Romania's membership in the European Union and NATO.
The first contacts between the Romanians and the French started in the late 14th century, when the French knights led by John of Nevers participated in the Battle of Nicopolis alongside Voivode Mircea the Elder and his soldiers. [1]
Between 1579 and 1583, King Henry III supported Petru Cercel in his bid for the Wallachian throne. [2]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the relations between the French and the Romanians intensified due to the numerous French merchants and intellectuals who traveled to the Romanian Principalities. In 1762, Claude-Charles de Peyssonnel proposed the establishment of a French representation in the Principalities. A French consulate would be opened in 1798 in Bucharest, and a vice consulate in Iași. [1]
In 1860, the French Emperor Napoleon III sent a French military mission to Romania. [3]
French foreign policy in the 1920s and 1930s aimed to build military alliances with small nations in Eastern Europe to counter the threat of German attacks. Paris saw Romania as an ideal partner in this venture, especially from 1926 to 1939. The end of this partnership was signaled by a statement made by both France and Great Britain towards the end of 1939 that the Kingdom of Romania would remain independent from both the Nazis and the Soviets. A few months later, the Axis powers would cross into French borders and sweep through the country.
The annexation of Romanian territory through the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact caused distrust of then-ruling King Carol II, and following his forced abdication, the far-right military leader Ion Antonescu took control of the country. Within a two year period, France and Romania had lost power to the Nazis, which would not be reclaimed until 1944-1945. [4] [5] [6]
In 1979 French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing visited Bucharest and in 1980 he received Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu as a guest in Paris. [7]
From 1976 until 1994 the French automaker Citroën attempted to make profit with a socialist–capitalist joint venture. It built the Citroën Axel for Western markets, while branding it the Oltcit in Romania. Romania was seeking up-to-date technology to strengthen its weak industrial sector. Citroën wanted peripheral production centres with lower wages to lower production costs and reach new markets. In the long run the venture was a costly failure for several reasons. Supply lines were often interrupted so that production output fell short of expectations. Romanian factories were unable to produce flawless cars or meet delivery deadlines. [8]
The French multinational banking company Société Générale acquired the majority stake in the Romanian bank Banca Română pentru Dezvoltare in 1999, and renamed it BRD – Groupe Société Générale. It is the third largest bank in Romania by total assets and market share. [9]
French construction company Colas Group has worked on the Romanian A2 motorway section between Cernavodă and Medgidia, between March 2009 and April 2011, when the contract was terminated by the National Company of Motorways and National Roads of Romania due to low progress from the French company. [10]
The Danube–Black Sea Canal is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it is an important part of the waterway link between the North Sea and the Black Sea via the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. The main branch of the canal, with a length of 64.4 km (40.0 mi), which connects the Port of Cernavodă with the Port of Constanța, was built in 1976–1984, while the northern branch, known as the Poarta Albă–Midia Năvodari Canal, with a length of 31.2 km (19.4 mi), connecting Poarta Albă and the Port of Midia, was built between 1983 and 1987.
The A1 motorway is a partially built motorway in Romania, planned to connect Bucharest with the Banat and Crișana regions in the western part of the country and the rest of Europe. When completed it will be 581 kilometers long and it will span the country on the approximative south-east to north west direction. The motorway starts in the western part of Bucharest and connects the following major cities: Pitești, Sibiu, Deva, Timișoara, Arad, reaching Hungary's M43 motorway near Nădlac. As the motorway is built along the Trans-European Transport Networks Rhine-Danube Corridor the construction receives 85% funding from the European Union. The road is part of the proposed Via Carpatia route.
The A2 motorway, also known as The Motorway of the Sun, is a motorway in Romania which links Bucharest with Constanța, a city-port on the shore of the Black Sea, where it merges after an interchange into the A4 motorway. It is 206 km long, and has been operational on its entire length since November 2012.
The A7 motorway, also known as the Ploiești–Siret Motorway or the Moldavia Motorway, is a partially built motorway in Romania, that upon completion will link Ploiești to the north-eastern part of the country, partly along the Pan-European Corridor IX. It will run along the route: Buzău, Focșani, Bacău, Roman, Pașcani, and Suceava, connecting to Ukraine's M19 highway near Siret.
Canadian-Romanian relations are the bilateral relations between the governments of Canada and Romania. Canada has an embassy in Bucharest. Romania has an embassy in Ottawa and three consulates-general. Romania has also three honorary consulate general in Moncton, Québec and Calgary.
Romania–Russia relations are the foreign relations between Romania and Russia. Romania has an embassy in Moscow and consulates-general in Rostov-on-Don and Saint Petersburg. Russia has an embassy in Bucharest and a consulate-general in Constanţa. Historical relations have oscillated among grudging cooperation, neutrality, open hatred and hostility.
British–Romanian relations are bilateral foreign relations between United Kingdom and Romania. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1880. Both countries are members of NATO. The United Kingdom has an embassy in Bucharest and Romania has an embassy in London. Romania also has two consulates general in Edinburgh and Manchester. Romania also has five honorary consulates based in Leeds, Newcastle, Inverness, Liverpool and Bristol. Romania has a cultural institute in London.
Australia–Romania relations refer to bilateral relations between Australia and Romania. Australia is represented through its embassy in Athens, Greece, and a consulate in Bucharest. In the other hand, Romania has an embassy in Canberra and a consulate in Melbourne and Sydney. Both countries officially established their diplomatic relations on 18 March 1968.
The Kingdom of Romania and Republic of China (ROC) began relations on July 5, 1939.
Hungarian-Romanian relations are foreign relations between Hungary and Romania dating back to the Middle Ages and continuing after the Romanian unification in 1859 and independence in 1877. In the past, they involved Wallachia and Moldavia.
The Bucharest Ring Motorway, termed A0, is a motorway ring in construction around the city of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It is intended to be the outer ring to the existing Bucharest Ring Road.
The DEx12 expressway, also known as the Pitești–Craiova Expressway, is a partially built expressway in the south-western part of Romania, previously labelled as A12, when it was considered as a future motorway. It will connect the cities of Pitești, Slatina and Craiova, being 121 km long, with an estimated total cost of 1.66 billion euro.
France–Portugal relations are the current and historical relations between France and Portugal. Both nations are members of the Council of Europe, European Union, NATO, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Union for the Mediterranean and the United Nations.