Anne-Marie Descôtes has been appointed French Ambassador to Italy. She is an alumna of the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Fontenay-aux-Roses (one of the institutions which merged to become ENS de Lyon), holds an agrégation in German, and is a leading figure in French diplomacy.
ENS de Lyon congratulates Anne-Marie Descôtes, graduate of ENS de Fontenay-aux-Roses (class of 1979), on her appointment as French Ambassador to Italy in March 2026.
Anne-Marie Descôtes’ career is distinguished by the breadth and diversity of her professional engagements. An agrégée in German, she began her career in secondary education, first in Boulogne-sur-Mer and then in Nogent-le-Rotrou (1985–1987), before turning to cultural diplomacy by joining the French Embassy in Bonn as a cultural attaché (1987–1990). She then joined the “Saint-Exupéry” class at the École nationale d’administration, from which she graduated in 1994, after a stint at the École normale supérieure.
Throughout her career, she has held senior positions in the French diplomatic service, notably as French Ambassador to Germany (2017–2020), before serving as Secretary General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (2022–2026).
She is one of the very few women, along with Sylvie Bermann and Catherine Colonna, to have been elevated to the rank of Ambassador of France.
This appointment recognizes an exceptional career marked by a constant commitment to serving the State, the French people, and France’s international influence.