France–Papua New Guinea relations France–Papua New Guinea relations France – Papua New Guinea relations refer to foreign relations between France and Papua New Guinea. Official diplomatic relations were established in 1976. France has an embassy in Port Moresby but Papua New Guinea has no diplomatic representation in France. Papua New Guinea's embassy in Brussels covers France. In 1768, French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville landed at what is now Papua New Guinea during his circumnavigation of the world. He gave his name to an island just to the east of New Guinea. In the 1870s and 1880s, the Marquis de Rays, a French nobleman, attempted
Geography of Papua New Guinea divides the island of New Guinea. Across the 820 km (509 mi) border, the western half of New Guinea is officially known as Papua province, governed by Indonesia. Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia is not straight; the border loops slightly to the west in the south-central part of New Guinea. Papua New Guinea's Western Province contains that loop. There are maritime borders with Australia to the south and Solomon Islands to the southeast. Papua New Guinea has a total area of 462 840 km², of which 452 860 km² is land and 9 980 km² is water. Its coastline