WASHINGTON — On his first day as France’s ambassador to the United States, Laurent Bili faced a terrifying decision: Which of the two receptions that he’d been invited to was he going to attend?
For the self-described introvert, it was a bit of a nightmare.
Bili, 62, had a total of three visitors in three years at his last posting in China, and one of them was his wife, Sabine.
He arrived in Beijing four months before the country went into lockdown, rendering China’s capital city a ghost town. A visit to France during the pandemic required a three-week quarantine upon his return and meals served by tray table that were left at his door.
Bili spent the first few weeks of the pandemic prospecting personal protective equipment, helping embassy staff find masks and other medical gear at the best prices, on behalf of the government in Paris.
The career diplomat has since traded isolation and PPE for cocktail parties and passed hors d’oeuvres. Yet, he’s still a little overwhelmed by the carousing that takes place in Washington, nearly three months into the job.
“I get the impression that my eyes are a bit deeper,” Bili said in an interview, pointing to his slightly sunken under eyes as he made light of the exhaustive pace.
The first in his family to graduate high school, he did not envision himself working in a field that required him to learn foreign languages. The soft-spoken diplomat from Brittany, which is in western France, said he was inspired to join the foreign service in his youth after a meeting a group of Finnish diplomats while he was hitchhiking in Peru.
He discovered through the experience that diplomacy was a real line of work that would also allow him to travel. He eventually became ambassador to Turkey, Brazil and later China.
France’s recent ambassadors to the U.S. have been known for their party diplomacy – a brand of soft power that Bili said is a striking contrast to his experience in Beijing. There, he said, diplomacy is a very sober affair. Here, lawmakers, journalists, administration officials and foreign envoys routinely mingle and exchange ideas together at cultural events.
Although he is more eager to provide insight on how to avoid a conflict with China than he is to rub elbows with a packed room full of guests, Bili has sought to leave his own mark on the position by hosting parties with a purpose.
He held his first function – a reception at the ambassador’s residence honoring International Women’s Day – four days into his tenure in Washington. The next evening, he hosted Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at an event toasting the First Amendment.
“We all as diplomats, we also have sometimes different styles,” Bili said. “I’m…maybe a more introverted guy.”
Bili thought he would remain in China, which was just beginning to reopen, until he received the call that would land him in Washington.
The assignment was not one that Bili had been seeking. He expected his posting in China to last for at least another six months and was not searching for a new job. “In fact, I was not dreaming to come here,” Bili said.
The posting in Washington has always been considered a plum but important ambassadorship. However, the scope of the role has expanded in the last two years.
A diplomatic spat in 2021, prompted by President Joe Biden convincing Australia to renege on a lucrative submarine deal with France, led French President Emmanuel Macron to recall Bili’s predecessor for the first time in history. Five months later, war broke out in Europe with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘Tough moment for relations’
Bili arrives at a period of rapprochement between the U.S. and France, following Macron’s state visit to Washington.
In December, the French president became the first world leader to be fêted by President Joe Biden since the U.S leader came into office. The lavish White House event helped to repair the frayed relationship between the historically close countries.
“That was a tough moment for relations,” Bili said.
“It’s difficult to be in a real trust relationship if you are not playing openly with your allies,” he said, before adding, “We have to look forward now, and the French side is doing that.”
Tough moment:France recalls ambassadors to US, Australia over submarine deal
For both countries, a lot is at stake on the world stage. Bili understands this.
For his part, he has been seeking to build influence with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
An aspect of French policy he said he hopes to impress upon them is that Europe has collectively provided more aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war than they realize. Europe has also been working to improve its military capabilities and defense spending.
“It’s really I think it’s important for people on the Hill to realize that we are doing a lot, we are ready to do more, and that we are in the same boat and it’s important that we stick together,” Bili said.
Macron recently traveled to China to discuss the Ukraine war, weeks after Bili was already in the United States. Beijing has sought to portray itself as a neutral party that can mediate an end to the conflict, despite being a close ally of Moscow.
U.S. relations with China are currently at a low point, following the downing of a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina in February and the threat that China could provide lethal weapons to Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing that has yet to be rescheduled.
The visit by Macron, one of the U.S. top allies, was very important, Bili said, because in the last three years, there was no direct contact between himself and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“When you just have these phone calls,” he said, “you start to realize that that doesn’t work.”
At a time of estrangement between Biden and Xi, Macron and the Chinese leader had a nine-hour tête-à-tête.
The time spent with Xi gave Macron an opportunity to “deconstruct the Russian narrative” about NATO’s responsibility for the war in Ukraine, the French diplomat said.
An unannounced meeting between Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Vienna earlier this month was seen as a sign that a Biden call or a Blinken visit could be on the way now, too.
“I think also that the momentum is changing again,” Bili said. “I’m quite confident that we will see a restart of discussions.”
Bili only spoke with Xi personally once when he was in Beijing. But he said his impression was that Xi is a leader who is willing to pay a certain price to achieve his goals in terms of China’s image and its relations with its neighbors.
“The last three years have been obviously a wakeup call for many countries, and also the fact that they obviously support Russia politically, after the aggression of Ukraine has had a very dramatic effect on the perception…of most of European countries,” he said.
Since his arrival in Washington in March, Bili said he has also met with Biden once, when he received his diplomatic credentials. “It was a very friendly and warm welcome,” he said.
The ceremony was one the most amazing ones the diplomat said he’s ever seen in his career.
“It’s really well organized and gives a real sense of the grandeur of the moment. But at the same time, it has to be quite short, because there is 12 ambassadors,” he said. “But it was a very nice and warm moment.”
Bili’s term in the U.S. is undetermined, but typically, they last three to four years. He said has become quite comfortable in Washington and hopes to remain here until 2028. His wife, who is a judge in France, took a sabbatical to join him.
In spite of the cynicism that many Americans feel about their politicians, Bili said that in Washington, there is an openness to discussion and expressing nuances that was surprising after his stint in Beijing.
As for the functions at the ambassador’s residence, which doubles as a reception space, Bili said he will continue to open up his home. He’s not giving up on the big parties for which his country’s embassy has become known.
“As long as the guests want to come,” he said with a smile, “I would be very pleased to receive them.”
