As much as we loved the Expo 2020 in Dubai, we were very surprised by the French pavilion, which was both pretentious and… empty. It is all about appearances and certainly not about substance. The architecture of the pavilion is really nice. However, what’s inside makes no sense and misses the theme of the expo completely. “Mobility, Opportunity and Sustainability” were nowhere to be seen. Unless a giant advertisement for Accor group was intended to tick the “Mobility” box, but that’s a stretch. As for the fashion exhibition by Jean-Paul Gaultier, don’t get me wrong, we love the guy and he has talent for sure, but these dresses have nothing to do there. 

The French pavilion hides its mediocrity behind a certain arrogance and pompous manners, a tactic long used by the French elites when they are incompetent and weak. 

Take our advice: do not waste your time at the French pavilion. The people who designed this exhibition don't seem to care much about visitor’s experience, nor do they care – and that’s even more problematic - about spending public money senselessly. Unless they’ve gone completely cynical. 

It is no surprise then that the visitors at the Expo 2020 have voted the French pavilion one the worst with the one from Denmark. 

As French citizens ourselves, we were ashamed by our pavilion and the mediocrity of the people behind this exhibit. This was, truly, “du foutage de gueule” (pardon our French).