Between 300 and 350 French people, Francophones and friends of France responded to the appeal of the Association d'Entraide des Français du Cambodge (AEFC) at the support evening held last Friday in the gardens of the French Embassy.
As soon as the evening kicked off, at around 6pm, the President, his volunteers and embassy staff were busy checking the final details, registration, security and so on. In addition to the long weeks of preparation and organisation, these precautions will ensure that this support event is transformed into a festive and convivial evening. It is a somewhat tired, but still alert, Chairman who will welcome the guests and take the time to exchange a few words with each of them.
“It's not an easy event to prepare, but we've had a lot of energy from our volunteers, the embassy and of course our sponsors,” confided President Fréneau.
Among those who passed through the gates of the embassy were many of the usual supporters, business leaders, professionals, many Franco-Cambodians, former presidents of the association, students and, as President Fréneau was quick to point out, ‘a lot of new faces’, which shows that the AEFC is becoming more and more firmly established in the community landscape as a leading and probably indispensable association, given that the lives of French people abroad can be fraught with small and sometimes major difficulties.
As in previous years, the evening featured a generous buffet of all things French, including cheeses, charcuterie, salads, ice creams and a fresh, fluffy galette des rois, as well as an equally generous selection of quality wines and spirits.
There was also a very successful lottery with many prizes, thanks to the support of a number of sponsors from the hotel sector and others. From 6pm to 9pm, the ticket office was full to bursting. And don't forget the excellent musical entertainment, which alternated between acoustic music, DJs, French chanson classics and a live rap/trip hop performance.
In his speech, President Fréneau thanked his team and that of the embassy, and continued:
“Another important thank you goes to all the sponsors behind me. Without them, this evening could not have taken place. These are sponsors for food and drink, but also sponsors who were kind enough to give us some funds, because as you know, an association can't function without money. I'd also like to thank all those who gave us prizes for our tombola”.
“The AEFC is a mutual aid association for French people in Cambodia that fights every day to help our nationals who are in difficulty... We have fewer delinquents and more children to support. We also support children whose parents are in difficulty. We take them on holiday. We took 110 children on holiday in 2024. And that was a real pleasure for us, because some of them had never been away before.”
“...We also support our elders either with their medical expenses or with their administrative burdens. It's not easy when you're 70 or 80 to answer your life certificate or work on your pension or insurance papers...”.
For his part, the French ambassador to Cambodia, Jacques Pellet, expressed his satisfaction at the success of the evening, while delivering an important message to his compatriots:
“Thank you for coming and I'm really pleased to see so many of you here this evening. The purpose of this evening is obviously to help the AEFC, and I would like to thank this association. Let's not forget that it was created a very long time ago and remains an unfailing supporter of the embassy's social action. And it embodies the value of solidarity. So those in good health help those who are weaker”.
“Generations help each other, the richest help the most vulnerable. And it's something of this spirit of solidarity that the AEFC embodies in Cambodia and which should be applauded.”
“Of course, the embassy has its own social initiatives, which are run by our consul, Sophie Guégan. But we work hand in hand with the AEFC to help all kinds of compatriots who are in difficult situations. And then there's just one very important message that I wanted to deliver this evening. Tell your friends around you who are not insured to take out insurance. There are inexpensive ways of getting insurance. You have to do it because the AEFC is in a very difficult phase when we have to repatriate uninsured compatriots to France for medical reasons or because they are destitute. This puts a huge strain on the association's financial resources. So, please pass on this message to those around you”, concluded the ambassador.
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