Less than two months after its unveiling in France, the French pavilion, ‘Lumière Lumières’ has started construction work at the Expo 2020 Dubai.

Élisabeth Borne, Minister of State and Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, in charge of Transport, laid the foundation stone for the pavilion, in the presence of the Expo 2020 teams and officials from the Compagnie francaise des expositions (COFREX), along with a collective of architects and visual artists of light.

The 4200 sqm. pavilion, despite its size will utilise more than 80 per cent of the building’s power from sunlight and will have a micro water treatment plant to reduce the demand of fresh water by 30 percent.

Minister Borne said: “During the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, the French Pavilion will embody the vision of mobility driven by our institutions and our public and private companies.”

“In the spirit of the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, it will be a question of demonstrating how digital technology and innovation can be used to devise solutions for smarter, more pleasant to live in, and better-connected cities and territories.”

Commenting on the ground-breaking ceremony, Erik Linquier, General Commissioner of the Pavilion France and President of COFREX, said, through its participation, France intends to make the mobility of people, goods, territories, ideas and information a fundamental issue in solving the challenges of transitions, whether technological, ecological or economic. “These are all subjects on which it will rely,” he said.

He added, “At the service of French companies – major players as well as start-ups – and all those who innovate, the Pavilion France is a concrete tool, an incomparable showcase for the know-how and innovations of French companies.”

He concluded that this will also be a platform to accelerate the international development of the French offer and share the French way of life with visitors from all over the world.

In addition to Minister Borne, the ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of the Expo 2020 Bureau and Ambassador of France to the UAE, Ludovic Pouille.

The French pavilion will be located at the Mobility District during the six months of the Expo 2020 Dubai, after which it will be dismantled and repurposed elsewhere.