Samuel Ducroquet

Once my degree at Sciences Po Lille was completed, I decided to enroll for a master’s degree at LSE’s European Institute: not only to deepen my knowledge of EU foreign policies but also to adopt new methods of learning and ways of thinking. And it was worth the trip across the Channel.

What immediately struck me at the EI - beyond the outstanding quality of the academic staff, all renowned professors - was the time dedicated to the confrontation of ideas and opinions. I had never felt so challenged in class, both by teachers and fellow students, many of whom pursued outstanding careers.  

With the benefit of hindsight, I must admit that my MSc at the EI was a remarkable preparation for what awaited me in Brussels. My first job at the French permanent representation to the EU involved a significant amount of work, most of the time under substantial pressure, in a multicultural and stimulating environment.As an alumnus specialized in European politics, there was no better start than a junior position within the team in charge of preparing and conducting the French presidency of the EU Council. As a member of the team in charge of the European Parliament, I spent most of my time in committees, plenary sessions and in the corridors of the EP in Brussels and Strasbourg.

While I was, at least initially, leaning towards a position within one of the European institutions, my time at the “perm rep” convinced me to dedicate my career to diplomacy. I moved to Paris, worked in the EU Department, and eventually passed the required examination to permanently join the French Quai d’Orsay.

After a few years in the EU realm, I then chose to broaden my horizons and switched from multilateral to bilateral issues, not in Europe anymore but in the Middle East.The three years I spent as political advisor at the French Embassy to the state of Qatar were particularly stimulating. Not only given the richness of the French-Qatari bilateral relations on the one hand, but also because of the political tensions going on between Doha and its neighbors which resulted in the blockade these countries imposed to Qatar in June 2017.

My career took an unexpected turn in 2018 following my time in Qatar, a country which has used Sports Diplomacy as a soft power. Instead of moving to another Middle Eastern country, I was appointed sports advisor, ’Olympic and Paralympic attaché’, at the French Embassy in Japan. Japan was then preparing to host the Rugby World Cup 2019, and the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020: two gigantic events that France is now getting ready to organize respectively in 2023 and 2024.

Following this intense, and by all means unique experience in Japan, I am now back in France. I’m ready to make the best use of my experience in sports diplomacy in my current position of Manager in charge of International and domestic dignitaries within the Protocol section of the International Department of the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic games of Paris 2024.