Far larger, it seems, are semi-public figures, or quai political thinkers, who purposefully blur the line between that role and celebrity.

FORBES: Connect

To further Gaullist ambitions, he built a network of contacts, spies, informers and friends through which he ran African policy, by-passing the Quai d'Orsay, the foreign ministry.

ECONOMIST: Jacques Foccart

You may have heard of or even tried other dietary supplements, such as dong quai, licorice, chasteberry, evening primrose oil and wild yam (natural progesterone cream).

CNN: Menopause

The last town before the Spanish border, Cerbere, feels more Catalonian and less French, with a smaller quai-side than Banyuls and a boat-clogged harbour framed by the Pyrenees.

BBC: Over the Pyrenees to Dali��s house

On 2 and 3 July, the meeting will take place in UNESCO Headquarters, and on 4 July it will be hosted at the French Academy of Sciences (23 quai de Conti 75006 Paris).

UNESCO: All Events | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The exhibition's co-curators the Filipino anthropologist Corazon Alvina and the Quai Branly's Constance de Monbrison haven't shied away from representing the archipelago's ancient and controversial head-hunter culture through a collection of painted shields and long throwing spears.

WSJ: Review: Island Treasure | 'Philippines: An Archipelago of Exchange' at the Mus��e du Quai Branly in Paris

The far closer working relationship between the Foreign Office and the Quai d'Orsay established in 1991 with the break-up of Yugoslavia has meant that the old scars from the failed collaboration over Suez in 1956 have largely healed.

ECONOMIST: Yes to Europe, No to federalism | The

For an unforgettable view of the Eiffel Tower when it sparkles in the evening, or a bright business lunch under a glass canopy, book a table at Les Ombres, on the rooftop of the Musee du Quai Branly.

BBC: Business trip: Paris