Embassy of France, Beirut
The French Embassy in Beirut is France’s main diplomatic mission to Lebanon. The ambassador since 2020 is Anne Grillo. The Pine Residence, built in 1916, housed France’s high commissioner for the Levant from 1919 to 1945 and became the French ambassador’s residence in 1946.
A car bomb inside the embassy compound on 24 May 1982 killed ten Lebanese and two French people and injured 27 others.
In October 1990, General Michel Aoun sought refuge at the embassy during clashes with Syrian forces before going into exile in France.
Today the French embassy, along with the consulate and cultural and economic services, is located at Espace des Lettres on Damascus Road in Beirut. This area sits on what used to be the border between Christian and Muslim neighborhoods during the Lebanese Civil War.
The current chancellery building, opened in 2003, is part of Cité Bounoure, the old École des Lettres de Beyrouth. It was designed by Yves Lion and Claire Piguet and integrates an older colonnade from the 1950s, walls made of Ramleh stone, and glass structures among century-old pine and olive trees. The design aims to be secure while remaining aesthetically pleasing.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:30 (CET).