The Pavilion

Work begins on the French Pavilion

Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, wielded a shovel as he started construction work on the French Pavilion for World Expo 2025 in Osaka, on the island of Yumeshima.

© De gauche à droite : Monsieur Thomas Coldefy, architecte, Monsieur Philippe Setton, Ambassadeur de France au Japon, Monsieur Ono Heihachiro, secrétaire général adjoint de l’Association japonaise pour l’Exposition universelle de 2025, Monsieur Franck Riester, ministre délégué chargé du Commerce extérieur, de l'Attractivité, de la Francophonie et des Français de l'étranger, Monsieur Yokoyama Hideyuki, maire d’Osaka, Monsieur Jacques Maire, commissaire général de la section française à l’Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Monsieur Tsutomu Himeno, représentant du gouvernement et Ambassadeur extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire pour le Kansai, ministère des affaires étrangères, Monsieur Giuseppe Chiaranda, Président de RIMOND.

Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, visited Osaka with a delegation of economic partners of the French Pavilion. Alongside Jacques Maire, President of COFREX and General Commissioner of the French Pavilion, and Japanese representatives, Franck Riester officially opened construction work on the French Pavilion for World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

This symbolic inauguration sparks work on the French Pavilion which will be completed in January 2025. Interior design work will continue until 13 April that year, when World Expo 2025 in Osaka begins with the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.

« Through a ‘Hymn to Love’, an editorial thread with particular resonance to the Japanese heart, the French Pavilion is to be a showcase for French talent and expertise and of our culture, heritage and identity. It will show how the political, economic, cultural and social choices of recent years have enabled France to embody daring and creativity »

Franck Riester Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad

From left to right: Mr Thomas Coldefy, architect, Mr Philippe Setton, Ambassador of France to Japan, Mr Ono Heihachiro, Deputy Secretary General of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo, Mr Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, Mr Yokoyama Hideyuki, Mayor of Osaka, Mr Jacques Maire, General Commissioner of the French Section of Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Mr Tsutomu Himeno, Government Representative and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Kansai, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Giuseppe Chiaranda, President of RIMOND. © De gauche à droite : Monsieur Thomas Coldefy, architecte, Monsieur Philippe Setton, Ambassadeur de France au Japon, Monsieur Ono Heihachiro, secrétaire général adjoint de l’Association japonaise pour l’Exposition universelle de 2025, Monsieur Franck Riester, ministre délégué chargé du Commerce extérieur, de l'Attractivité, de la Francophonie et des Français de l'étranger, Monsieur Yokoyama Hideyuki, maire d’Osaka, Monsieur Jacques Maire, commissaire général de la section française à l’Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Monsieur Tsutomu Himeno, représentant du gouvernement et Ambassadeur extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire pour le Kansai, ministère des affaires étrangères, Monsieur Giuseppe Chiaranda, Président de RIMOND.

The French Pavilion, expressing French talent and expertise

The Pavilion will showcase France to the 28 million expected visitors. In Osaka, the French Pavilion aims to reach out to the Japanese people in particular, an audience with high expectations and different benchmarks to the Western world. Throughout the six months of the event, it will host exhibitions and a programme highlighting France’s contribution to art, science, technology and innovation, to feed into this vision for the future and guided by the thread of the “Hymn to Love”: love of oneself, love of others and love of nature.

« In Japan, there are high expectations of France when it comes to surprising and winning over the public. Alongside the COFREX team and with the support of our partners, we will highlight our economic, social and cultural assets and share France’s passion with the masses, while projecting the image of a country engaged in the low-carbon reindustrialization of its economy. »

Jacques Maire President of COFREX and General Commissioner of the French Pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka

A responsible building and a setting for the permanent exhibition, which is conceived as a lovers’ stroll

Designed jointly by the French architecture studio Coldefy and the Italian innovation and design firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and located in the “Empowering Lives” zone of the site, directly opposite the main entrance to the event, the French Pavilion stands out for its imposing façade crossed by a monumental ramp in pink-hued copper. In its refined, modern style, the building recalls a stage open to the public. Its sides are veiled, lending a certain softness and a mystery echoing the editorial thread of the “Hymn to Love”.

It is designed as a temporary building with a metallic structure that can be reassembled for re-use after World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

The veils and the fully planted roof help lower temperatures and improve the thermal performance of the building. The planted roof also helps retain and re-use rainwater.

Integrated into the French Pavilion’s editorial thread of the Hymn to Love, the permanent exhibition is conceived as a lovers’ stroll, fostering an infinite dialogue between the various dimensions of love: love of oneself, love of others and love of nature, but also love of talent and expertise and the love between France and Japan.
 

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