Patricia Connell

I did not enter politics out of ambition. I got involved because, when French citizens abroad need to be defended, someone capable of actually doing it is needed.

Roots that shape character

I grew up in Seine-Saint-Denis, in a family where service was not a slogan but a reality — a duty.

My father, a career military man, joined the Free French at a time when history left little room for hesitation. My mother, born in Syria to a family of Greek refugees, knew what it meant to rebuild a life. Very involved in the associative world, she was convinced that the collective is what prevents individuals from falling through the cracks.

I grew up with two certainties: nothing is ever guaranteed. And behind every cause, there are men, women and children.

Forty years, two countries, one community

For more than 40 years, my life has been linked to that of French citizens in the United Kingdom.

With my husband — met at 16 — we built a binational family. Three children, now three grandchildren, who went through both French and British educational systems. The trade-offs between schools, tuition fees, questions of integration or identity, I don't discover them in briefing notes. I lived them.

Before being elected, I committed myself so that our community would exist, be seen and support itself:

• by creating and leading for more than 15 years the London Favourite French Film
• by launching France in London, the French Fairs and the Red Carpet Day
• by supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups

"Because a strong community is not decreed — it is built."

My career in marketing and entrepreneurship taught me one simple thing: people are not fooled. They know how to recognize what works... and what is just talk.

In the face of storms, actions - not speeches

When Brexit plunged thousands of French citizens into uncertainty, I did not wait for things to sort themselves out.

I worked with associations, with elected officials — regardless of their political leanings — and with organizations like the3million. I traveled across the United Kingdom to answer very concrete questions: status, rights, future.

During the pandemic, same logic: act rather than comment. I helped create a mutual aid network to support the most vulnerable.

These experiences taught me that our work is not administrative.

Because behind each case:

• there is a worried family,
• a parent wondering how they will pay their child's tuition fees,
• an entrepreneur stuck in the maze of administration,
• an isolated retiree questioning their ability to meet their needs.

We don't process forms. We deal with lives.

Collegiality as compass, results as horizon

Today, as President of the Consular Council and member of the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad, I work with all elected officials. Not because it's comfortable but because it's useful.

Finding compromises is not a weakness. It's often the only way to get results.

In an uncertain world, governing is not choosing between all or nothing. It's advancing concrete solutions, not imposing postures.

I don't do politics for parties. I do it for French citizens.

It is in this spirit that the list Ensemble ! Pour tous les Français du Royaume-Uni was born - which brings together, in the center, elected officials from different sensibilities and civil society actors, from the four corners of the United Kingdom, around the same will: to work together beyond labels.

"Because nothing lasting is built alone"

I deeply believe in Europe as a space of protection and opportunities, in democracy as collective responsibility, in social progress as a condition for cohesion, in freedom to enterprise as an engine, and in openness as strength. Values that don't oppose each other - they complement each other.

I also believe in balance: between protection and responsibility, between solidarity and freedom to enterprise, between stability and adaptability.

Associations, teachers, entrepreneurs and volunteers are the heart of our community.

My role is to make the link between them and the institutions — and to advance solutions.

Trust is earned, it is not proclaimed

In 2024, I received the Legion of Honor for this commitment. I see it less as a reward than as a reminder: to continue living up to it.

Because nothing is guaranteed. Rights can recede. Balances can change. And even democracy can erode if we stop defending it.

That's why I believe in simple politics: Work with everyone. Seek solutions. Put French citizens before partisan logic.

Because what French citizens are looking for today is not noise. It's stability, clarity and results.

And this stability is not decreed — it is built through experience, dialogue and a sense of reality.

My escapes remain the same: my family, my friends, cinema, theater... and a few series to which I am, let's say... faithfully attached.

If days were 36 hours long, I would slip in without hesitation a bit more sport and a few trips.

Serving French citizens in the United Kingdom is not, for me, a function. It's a responsibility.

And if you trust me, I will continue to do what I have always done: move things forward, without unnecessary noise, but with results.

Because ultimately, the real question is never: who speaks the loudest?

The real question is: who protects without blocking, who brings together without dividing, and who concretely improves people's lives?