18 October 2013 – The Philippine Embassy in Paris announced today that the Philippine Consulate in Lille, France, is now open to the public.
Ms. Sabine Loridant, Philippine Honorary Consul in Lille took her oath of office before Philippine Ambassador Cristina G. Ortega in the Philippine Embassy in Paris on October 16.
Present as well were Minister and Consul General Maria Josefina V. Ceballos and Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls Rapunzel Acop and André Estanislao. Ms. Loridant, a native of Lille, is also the Director for International Sales and Relations of Adeo Services for Leroy Merlin.
The Consulate is located at the Maison des Consuls (House of Consuls), 1 Place George Lyon, Lille. Currently, the office of the Honorary Consuls of Japan, Malta, Sweden, Greece, Estonia, Senegal and Italy are sharing the space. Each Honorary Consul takes turn in holding office in the Maison des Consuls. Ms. Loridant will hold office on Monday afternoons. The Honorary Consul may be reached, however, at any time through + 33 6 08 78 31 05.
The Consulate shall endeavor to promote the three pillars of Philippine foreign policy --- national security, economic diplomacy and protection of the welfare of Filipino nationals. To this end, Honorary Consul Loridant assured the Ambassador that she shall further Philippine interests in Lille and make representations with authorities to ensure that Filipinos are protected and assimilated well in her areas of jurisdiction. The Consulate is also open to accept visa applications for travel to the Philippines.
The building that the Honorary Consuls are occupying right now has already been bought by the prestigious university, Institut d’Etudes Politique de Paris or better knows as Sciences-Po, one of the most prestigious universities dedicated to the study of international politics and relations in France. The University will undertake a complete renovation of the space in 2014. The management of the university, in consultation with city officials and the consular corps of Lille, has given the said space to the Consular Corps as it will be a very good institutional complement to the university. Furthermore, all costs for renovation of the office space, including furniture, will be borne by the university. END
