Evolution of French Cultural Diplomacy during the Incumbency of the Last Three Presidents from 2007 to 2022: from Nicolas Sarkozy to Emmanuel Macron

The object of the research is to analyze the tools used for implementation of cultural diplomacy and the processes that take place in the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs that have direct influence on it. The research question was formulated as: What mechanisms of cultural diplomacy were used during the presidency of Nicolas Sárközy, François Hollande, and Emmanuel Macron from 2007 till 2022 in France? And how did they evolve during this period of time? Overall, the research showed that the changes were not really significant, although some variations in their approaches were noticed. For instance, when the head of the state was Nicolas Sarcozy were established such organizations as "Society of exterior audiovisual of France" and "Campus France". They keep representing France abroad through educational and cultural programs. At the same time Françoise Hollande also did not stay apart from cultural diplomacy and continued promoting education through French academics, providing this sector with increased financing. However neither of these Presidents were noticed in events dedicated to art. In contrast to them, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs under Emmanuel Macron has extended its arsenal of tools more often turning to the digital ones. As an example, were developed virtual museum tours, digital educational courses, overseas TV and radio broadcasting, online sightseeing maps for South Africa and other tools that ensure access to French culture and its achievements from any part of the world. What has also changed in 2017-2022 is the focus on art which was not much present before. In these years Louvre Abu Dhabi was finally opened, Musée d’Orsay and the State Pushkin Museum collaborated, and other cultural exchanges took place. Although the variety of cultural diplomacy mechanisms increased, it can be said that the spendings on education, art and media have relatively fallen. The main inference that can be made from the data on budget allocation is that among the three presidents the most amount of money was provided during the rule of François Hollande, while the most subsidised sector was the “Agency for French education abroad”, and the most funded organisations were AEFE and France Médias Monde.