法国前总理拉法兰的世博缘

让-皮埃尔·拉法兰自1976年以来定期访问中国，即使在2003年“非典”盛行期间，他本人和法国政府也为上海世博会做了很多推介工作。“我希望上海世博会法国馆能促进法中两国长期持续的艺术交流。”在他看来，法中关系不仅仅是政治、经济的交流与合作，也是文化层面的。

20日下午，拉法兰到访上海世博局。在上海世博局副局长胡劲军的陪同下，拉法兰一行参观了位于世博大厦一楼的世博会规划展示厅，详细了解了世博会历史、上海世博会筹办进展等情况。随后，拉法兰一行登上世博大厦顶楼观景平台，俯瞰世博园区全景。而这次来访，只是一个预热。“我今年还会再次来到上海，来到世博园区，见证这一重要的盛会。”他告诉记者，法国大报费加罗报已经发起关注上海世博会的号召，在6月更将组织读者代表团来上海参观世博园区。

对上海世博会感兴趣的可不止法国媒体，拉法兰透露，近年来随着汉语热在法国的兴起，法国的一些中学正在积极筹备一次世博之旅，让孩子们可以边学中文边逛园区，看得出，他很喜欢这个想法。

“我的外孙马丁在巴黎幼儿园的园长给我写信，说他们开始提供孩子们学中文的机会了，”他眨了眨眼睛，笑眯眯地告诉大家。

拉法兰此次行程中还包括20日晚参加在上海世贸商城的巧克力沙龙，这一沙龙将向大家展示法国巧克力作坊的手艺，让大家品尝来自法国的巧克力。“巧克力的话题既是经济的话题，也是美食的话题；法中关系不仅仅是经济上的，也是一种文化交流，这也是我们希望通过法国馆传递的信息。”

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said today he hoped the France Pavilion would remain after the 2010 Expo to promote Sino-French long-term cultural exchanges.

Raffarin represented France to confirm the country's participation in the 2010 Expo in 2005, the first country to do so.

He invited Chinese people to visit his Blog at http://www.carnetjpr.com/, which has a Chinese version, at a press conference in Shanghai today, and said he would write stories about the Expo.

Sino-French ties are not only limited to political and economic fields, but culture as well, he said.

The former prime minister will visit the Expo site during the event. He told reporters that Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper, would organize a readers' group to the Expo site in June.

Some French schools are also preparing a similar visit to promote Chinese study for their students, he revealed.

France will celebrate its pavilion's national day by hosting a music festival.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to visit the 2010 World Expo site in the first half of this year, Raffarin said.