Press release
23 April 2024

WORK BEGINS ON THE FRENCH PAVILIONWORLD EXPO 2025 – OSAKAOsaka, 23 April 2024 – Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness,
Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, wielded a shovel as he started construction work on theFrench Pavilion for World Expo 2025 in Osaka, on the island of Yumeshima.
Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French
Nationals Abroad, visited Osaka with a delegation of economic partners of the French Pavilion.
Alongside Jacques Maire, President of COFREX and General Commissioner of the French Pavilion, andJapanese representatives, Franck Riester officially opened construction work on the French Pavilion forWorld Expo 2025 in Osaka
This symbolic inauguration sparks work on the French Pavilion which will be completed inJanuary 2025. Interior design work will continue until 13 April that year, when World Expo 2025 inOsaka begins with the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.
“Through a ‘Hymn to Love’, an editorial thread with particular resonance to the Japanese heart, theFrench Pavilion is to be a showcase for French talent and expertise and of our culture, heritage andidentity. It will show how the political, economic, cultural and social choices of recent years haveenabled France to embody daring and creativity.”
Minister Franck Riester1From left to right: Mr Thomas Coldefy, architect, Mr Philippe Setton, Ambassador of France to Japan, Mr
Ono Heihachiro, Deputy Secretary General of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo, Mr FranckRiester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French NationalsAbroad, Mr Yokoyama Hideyuki, Mayor of Osaka, Mr Jacques Maire, General Commissioner of the FrenchSection of Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Mr Tsutomu Himeno, Government Representative and Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Kansai, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Giuseppe Chiaranda, Presidentof RIMOND.

The French Pavilion, expressing French talent and expertise
The Pavilion will showcase France to the 28 million expected visitors. In Osaka, the French Pavilion aims
to reach out to the Japanese people in particular, an audience with high expectations and different
benchmarks to the Western world. Throughout the six months of the event, it will host exhibitions anda programme highlighting France’s contribution to art, science, technology and innovation, to feed into
this vision for the future and guided by the thread of the “Hymn to Love”: love of oneself, love of others
and love of nature.
“In Japan, there are high expectations of France when it comes to surprising and winning over thepublic. Alongside the COFREX team and with the support of our partners, we will highlight oureconomic, social and cultural assets and share France’s passion with the masses, while projecting theimage of a country engaged in the low-carbon reindustrialization of its economy.”
Jacques Maire, President of COFREX and General Commissioner of the French Pavilion at World
Expo 2025 in Osaka.

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A responsible building and a setting for the permanent exhibition, which is conceived as a lovers’
strollDesigned jointly by the French architecture studio Coldefy and the Italian innovation and design firm
CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and located in the “Empowering Lives” zone of the site, directly opposite themain entrance to the event, the French Pavilion stands out for its imposing façade crossed by amonumental ramp in pink-hued copper. In its refined, modern style, the building recalls a stage open
to the public. Its sides are veiled, lending a certain softness and a mystery echoing the editorial threadof the “Hymn to Love”.
It is designed as a temporary building with a metallic structure that can be reassembled for re-use afterWorld Expo 2025 in Osaka.
The veils and the fully planted roof help lower temperatures and improve the thermal performance ofthe building. The planted roof also helps retain and re-use rainwater.
Integrated into the French Pavilion’s editorial thread of the Hymn to Love, the permanent exhibition isconceived as a lovers’ stroll, fostering an infinite dialogue between the various dimensions of love: loveof oneself, love of others and love of nature, but also love of talent and expertise and the love between
France and Japan.

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Useful links:
https://www.franceosaka2025.fr
https://www.cofrex.fr

About COFREXCOFREX SAS, founded in January 2018, is a publicly owned company that is the first permanent body
dedicated to preparing, organizing and implementing France’s participation in World and InternationalExpos. Its sustainable approach draws on experience from previous Expos to ensure optimalorganization at the best price and with the smallest impact. It is based on a partnership between publicand private stakeholders focused on France’s image and attractiveness.
About the French Pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka
World Expo 2025 in Osaka (Japan) will be held between 13 April and 13 October 2025, designed aroundthe theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” and the subthemes “Saving Lives”, “EmpoweringLives” and “Connecting Lives”. The site for the Expo is located in Yumeshima, an artificial island locatedon Osaka’s waterfront. The general design of the 155-hectare venue has been entrusted to Sosuke
Fujimoto. All pavilions will be connected by a Grand Roof (Ring) with a diameter of 615m and acircumference of 2km, and will be split between three areas, Green World, Pavilion World and Water
World. 161 countries will be represented, and 28 million visitors are expected. The French Pavilion,
which aims to showcase French innovation, talent and expertise, will be located in the Empowering
Lives zone, near the Japanese Pavilion and the main entrance to the World Expo.

PRESS CONTACTS
Nathalie MERCIER : nathalie.mercier@cofrex.fr
Chloé VILLANOVA : chloe.villanova@cofrex.fr
Marie CEILLIER : cofrex@hillandknowlton.com

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