French consulate registers 10,000th citizen in HK
The French consulate yesterday celebrated the registration of its 10,000th citizen in Hong Kong.
Fanny Duguet, the project manager for the Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, who arrived in Hong Kong at the end of August, was given free tickets for the premiere of the upcoming 'French Cinepanorama' film festival.
Consul Arnaud Barthelemy, toasting with champagne with members of the French community, attributed the rapidly growing French presence to the city's service-oriented economy and its proximity to the mainland.
He said the French community was young and dominated by entrepreneurs and families with children.
'French people are quite happy in Hong Kong,' he said of a community that probably numbers as many as 15,000, as not all expatriate nationals register with the consulate.
Duguet, 41, said that the day she heard she was the 10,000th citizen was extra special because her husband, Stephane, had also heard he had found a job in the city.
