Science Diplomacy in changing times : French framework and practice

Physics is one of the scientific fields that historically favours large-scale international collaborations, and hence has close links with diplomacy : negotiations of the contributions of respective countries to large international projects commonly involve diplomatic channels, and science collaborations have in turn contributed to maintain channels of communication and exchange through troubled geopolitical periods. We introduce the National Science Diplomacy Framework which has been recently updated by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exemplify its implementation through the science diplomacy network of the Embassy of France in the United States, and reflect on opportunities and challenges met by science diplomacy in changing times.