In the 17th century, King Louis the 13th decided to appoint a French consul in Jerusalem, as he was urged to protect the Latin people and restore their threatened rights. But until 1842, the French presence in town remained occasional.
Before the French consulate being stable, French and Palestinian affairs were ruled by other French consulates first in Aleppo, then in Cairo and finally in Damascus.
On the 29th December of 1842, the French Foreign office established a consulate in Jerusalem, and first put in charge Count Gabriel de Lantivy. For quite a long time, consuls’ missions had been both religious and political. Consuls were directly under the authority of the French embassy in Constantinople.
In 1871, the defeat of France against Germany unsettled the protectorate and French prerogatives upon the Christian monks it had to protect. Therefore, the French Foreign office deeply reformed the consulate so that it could better serve the French interests in the area. At the end of the 19th century, the Consul of France used the powerful French Catholic missionary movement to enlarge his influence. Many French religious orders came and settled their houses in Jerusalem and around Holy places (Mytilene agreement in 1901 and Treaty of Constantinople in 1913). Thus, the French presence in the area increased just before the First World War. Furthemore, capitulations of the Ottoman Empire allowed France to gather more and more people under its protection. In addition, as a consequence of colonization of Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Consulate also began to protect a larger number of Muslim and Jewish citizens who came and lived in the Holy City.
Franco-Russian Alliance (1891) brought some troubles to the Consulate. The diplomatic and political crisis the Ottoman Empire got through until the First World War unsettled its authority. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918, the General Consulate in Jerusalem enfranchised from the French Embassy authority in Constantinople and became General Consulate. In may 1941, The Consulate was closed upon mandatory British authorities.
Consuls of Jerusalem Post :
- Count of Lantivy (1843-1845)
- Mr. Helouis-Jorelle (1846-1848)
- Mr. Botta (1848-1855)
- Mr. de Barrère (1856-1870)
- Mr. Crampon (1871-1873)
- Mr. Patrimonio (1873-1881)
- Mr. Langlais (1881-1883
- Mr. Destrées (1883-1885)
- Mr. Charles Ledoux (1885-1897)
- Mr. Pierre Auzepy (1898-1901)
- Mr. Honoré Daumas (1901-1902)
- Mr. Jules Boppe (1902-1904)
- Mr. Georges Outret (1905-1907)
- Mr. Georges Gueyraud (1908-1914)