Embassy of France, Phnom Penh
The Embassy of France in Cambodia is the primary diplomatic mission of the French Republic to the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is located in the capital Phnom Penh. It is known for the role it played as a place of refuge for foreigners and at-risk Cambodians after the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975 for several days until foreigners were forced to go to Thailand while the regime forced Cambodians to stay in the country.
History
Until Cambodia's independence from France in 1953, the colonial power was represented in Phnom Penh by a high commissioner, who used a hotel that was purposely built for these activities which was partially funded through the local administrative budget of French Indochina. After independence, the Cambodian government requested that it take ownership of the hotel, and in 1955, an agreement was produced that granted 4.8 hectares of land and leftover assets from the loan used to build the hotel in exchange for the property. The following year, M. Pierre Dafau was chosen to build the embassy complex, with France allocating 250 million francs to the project. Construction started in 1958 and ended in 1961. According to prominent Sangkum-era politician Nhiek Tioulong, the embassy's Technical Cooperation Services department helped build infrastructure as part of a larger French technical aid program.Fall of Phnom Penh and suspension of relations (1975-1991)
By March 1975, the embassy had already ceased operations due to the expectation of a Khmer Rouge takeover. After the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April, the new government did not allow France, as well as most other countries with the exception of a few allies, mostly communist states, to reopen its embassy. However, the embassy remained staffed, led by vice-consul Jean Dyrac, and would become a space of refuge for 600 foreigners and 1,000 Cambodians during and shortly after the battle. By April 26, almost all Cambodians has been forced out, with only foreign journalists and diplomats as well as Cambodian women with a foreign husband remaining and supply aircraft not being allowed to fly in. Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg, who would later document the extent of the Cambodian genocide, stayed in the embassy along with other refugees; Schanberg stated that the Cambodians were made to leave in two waves, with some being allowed to secretly flee on 18 April and 600 others were handed over to Khmer Rouge authorities on 21 April. The treatment and eviction of Cambodians from the embassy has been the subject of controversy, with Billon Ung Boun Hor, the wife of ex-National Assembly President Ung Bon Hor, suing the French government in 1999; in response, Dyrac stated that the situation meant that turning over Cambodians to the Khmer Rouge was inevitable. Finally, on 30 April, the foreigners were removed from the embassy and trucked to the Thailand border by the Khmer Rouge.After the fall of the Khmer Rouge and the installation of a Vietnamese-backed government in 1979, the premises were used as an army command post until 1985. Between 1986 and 1991, the chancery served as an orphanage that housed up to 170 children.