Brief History [fr]

The French Consulate General of Cape Town, according to the archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the oldest in Southern Africa. In 1803, Napoléon Bonaparte nominated a certain Gaillande "superintendent of trade relations in Cape Town", equivalent to what is now the rank of Vice-Consul. His responsibility was to provide supplies to the naval division of Rear-Admiral Linois. Gaillande stayed in this post until January 10th 1806, the date when Cape Town was taken over by the English.

A Consular Agency, dependent of the French Consulate General in London, was recreated after the fall of the First Empire in June 1817 and Count des Escotais was appointed. The latter began his job in August 3rd 1818. The Consular Agency was erected as a Consulate in November 1818.

The first civil status act registered in the French Consulate General of Cape Town was in January 6th 1871 between Charles Marie Ernest de la Cornillière, from Cape Town and Miss Stella Hendrina Hampt, from Paarl.