French Embassy unwillingly closed its media library in Minsk, which had operated for 30 years
In August 2026, the French media library — the Franco-Belarusian Information Room on Contemporary France — finally closed in the Pushkin Minsk Regional Library after 30 years of operation, writes "Pozirk" publication.
As reported by the French Embassy, for three decades the media library served as a platform for familiarization with French language, culture, and contemporary France. It hosted musical, artistic, and philosophical meetings, film screenings, exhibitions, and games. The room also promoted the study of French by children.
It follows from the French diplomatic mission's statement that the closure has political reasons. The embassy expressed regret that a project that had existed for 30 years and was aimed exclusively at cultural cooperation, ultimately became undesirable for the Belarusian authorities.
Representatives of France hope that this farewell will be only temporary. The embassy emphasized that restrictions and deprivation of access to culture only increase interest in it.
The then Chargé d'affaires of France in Belarus, Ludovic Royer, spoke sharply about the closure of the media library on July 14, during a reception on the occasion of France's national holiday. He stated that he was leaving Belarus with a feeling of incompleteness, partly due to the closure of the media library, which was the result of thirty years of cooperation with the Pushkin Library.
Royer called this decision particularly incomprehensible against the backdrop of attempts to resume dialogue between France and Belarus. He also noted that it would be extremely difficult to get bilateral relations out of the current deadlock.
At the same time, the parties continue to declare the need to maintain communication channels. On August 6, during a meeting between Royer and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Chairman of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic on International Affairs and National Security, Sergei Aleinik, the importance of open contacts, mutual respect, and the preservation of cultural and humanitarian ties between the two countries was discussed.
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