Immediate past French Ambassador to Ghana Anne Sophie Avé says she was appointed to her new role as French Ambassador in charge of Public Diplomacy in Africa as a result of her work in Ghana.
She said her activities, which were deemed by President Emmanuel Macron as promoting the European country and changing the narrative, got her the new role.
“I think what they noticed and appreciated is that we changed the narrative,” she disclosed to Blakk Rasta on Urban Blend on 3FM.
“We were able to put out there a narrative that here is what we are, here is what France is. We are not perfect, we have challenges but there are things we do differently. No better or worse, we just different. Here is what we like. We have a lot in common. We love football, we love music, we love culture and just being modestly presenting who we are and what we are.”
She pointed out that President Macron, seeing the challenges France had in her image in other African countries, “asked me, ‘How did you do that in Ghana and can you help us do that in the rest of Africa?”
She said her work as French Ambassador were seen as “genuine” and a true reflection of France and this caught the attention of President Macron back at the Elysée Palace.
About her regrets while serving as French Ambassador to Ghana, Sophie, who adopted the name Akosua, said leaving the post is what makes her sad.
“My biggest regret is that I had to leave because there is so much that I would have loved to carry on,” she stated, assuring that her successor will carry on where she left off.
Watch the full interview with Blakk Rasta below: