Diplomacy, anthems, Italian and French officials — and this year, football too. The traditional July 14 reception at Palazzo Farnese, organized by the French Embassy in Italy to celebrate the national holiday, will feature an unusual addition: the World Cup semifinal between France and Spain will be shown during the evening.

A scheduling coincidence difficult to ignore. The match, at 9 p.m. Italian time at Dallas Stadium, decides a place in the 2026 World Cup final and falls on the symbolic day of the République. The Embassy therefore decided to include the game in the reception program, turning one of Rome’s most traditional diplomatic events into an occasion for collective cheering for one evening.

As every year, Palazzo Farnese will bring together representatives of institutions, the diplomatic corps, and the economic, cultural and media sectors, along with the French community in Italy. After the official part of the ceremony, attention will shift to the screens and to the French national team, facing Spain in the first of the two semifinals.

This marks a change from the usual July 14 script in Rome. In 2025 the ceremony also coincided with the 150th anniversary of the French presence at Palazzo Farnese, celebrated in the presence of members of the Italian government and institutions.

This year’s reception will also be the first July 14 hosted by France’s new ambassador to Italy, Anne-Marie Descôtes. Appointed on February 9 and formally installed after presenting her credentials to President Sergio Mattarella in March, Descôtes succeeded Martin Briens as head of the diplomatic mission.

A career diplomat and former ambassador to Germany, Descôtes served as secretary-general of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs until her appointment to Rome. The reception will thus be her first major institutional event with the French community and with Italy’s political, economic and cultural circles on the most important date of the French national calendar.