On March 4th, the associate editor for Le Figaro Philippe Genie led a French media delegation to visit Wuhan University. Upon arriving at WHU, Mr. Genie said “we headed to Wuhan University directly from the airport. Everything here makes me feel that Wuhan is the closest place to Paris.”
Other delegation members included a political commentator for French BFMTV, Ulysse Gosset, an associate editor for Le Monde Diplomatique, Martina Bulard, and journalist Fraancis Brochet.
When receiving the delegation at WHU, Vice-Chair of the WHU Council Luo Yuting introduced WHU and its unique history of collaboration with French universities and research institutes. WHU Vice-President Tan Guangming further illustrated the WHU-French cooperation through detailed figures and examples.
Ulysse Gosset first asked about the quality of WHU students to which Vice-President Tan answered that among several million high school graduates in China, only the top 1% has a chance to enter WHU.
The delegation then posed a series of questions about the students’ living expenses, family backgrounds, and the number of international and French students. University leaders and Chinese and international students responded by painting a detailed portrayal of Chinese and international student life at WHU.
After the meeting, the delegation toured around the WHU campus. Martina Bulard said “I have been to many universities. WHU is among the most beautiful ones. Students should work hard here.”
In his interview with WHU TV station, Philippe Genie said “even though this is my first time to WHU. I can’t help thinking about American universities when I see this magnificent campus and students with different backgrounds. I will introduce WHU to my family and Le Figaro.”
Most of the student representatives accompanying the delegation were capable of speaking Chinese, English and French thanks to the renowned Sino-French joint training class and the strong foreign student training system at WHU.
The cooperation between WHU and France traces as far back as 1896. In recent times, 1980 marked a major turning point when WHU and the France signed “The Minute between Wuhan University and France”, a symbol of deepening cooperation in joint training, scientific research and cultural exchange. WHU is unique among Chinese universities for its long cooperative history with France.
