Tung Chan and Norm Letnick surprise French diplomatic corps in advance of Bastille Day

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      Bastille Day came three days early in Vancouver last night as the French consulate hosted a soirée at the University Women's Club of Vancouver to celebrate the birth of the republic.

      The former consul general, Evelyne DeCorps, was recently appointed as France's minister to Chad. So in her place, the assistant consul, Christophe Alamelama, served as host, with plenty of help from press attaché Nora Azouz.

      Former city councillor Maggie Ip and press official Nora Arouz.
      Charlie Smith

      The eclectic audience included former former city councillor Maggie Ip, former S.U.C.C.E.S.S. CEO and ex-city councillor Tung Chan—resplendant in his honorary captain's garb—and Melania Alvarez, who graced the cover of the Georgia Straight in November for her efforts to advance math education in B.C.

      Alvarez, education coordinator at the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, explained that she's been working with the French government on math-education initiatives..

      On Monday (July 15) and Wednesday (July 17), Ivar Ekeland of Université Paris-Dauphine will deliver a two-part lecture on how math has helped us better understand the planet. The second part will focus on global challenges that humanity is facing in the 21st century. (The presentations will take place at 3 p.m. on each day in room 2012 of UBC's Earch Sciences Building.)

      In some respects, climate change is best explained through mathematics, which can convey a great deal of information very concisely. And with carbon dioxide now exceeding 400 parts per million in the atmosphere, the math is bearing down on the world like never before.

      Last night, one of the surprises came from Norm Letnick, parliamentary secretary to the premier, who talked for quite a while in French. The MLA for Kelowna–Lake Country explained that he was raised in Montreal and married a francophone, which is why he managed to impress the French diplomatic corps in Vancouver with his language skills.

      French-speaking Liberal MLA Norm Letnick and assistant consul Christophe Alamelama

      Alamelama told the crowd that next month, the president of the French Senate, Jean-Pierre Bel, will visit B.C.

      As the head of the upper house, Bel is first in line to succeed President Francois Hollande should he die or become too ill to complete his term.

      Alamelama also revealed that he'll be returning to Paris next month, which means France will soon have a new consul general and new assistant consul in Vancouver.

      No celebration of Bastille Day is complete without the singing of France's national anthem, "La Marseiillaise". It was followed by the singing of "O Canada".

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