Nathalie has not always been the confident, sociable woman people encounter today.  As a child she was shy, painfully reserved, to the point that a teacher wrote off-handedly on her report card that they were not aware Nathalie was in their class. She recalls being a well-behaved student and particularly enjoyed her classes in French, geography and history, though mathematics not so much. Talented in languages, Nathalie also studied Spanish and Russian, understanding that true cultural understanding requires fluency with the language. Nathalie was the only child of French parents who resided in Algeria, though she was actually born in the clinic of her family’s hometown of Ganges, at the southern edge of Les Cévennes, a mountain chain that is a part of France’s Massif Central, and travelled to Algeria as a three-week-old infant. Conceived during the Algerian War, a major armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front which led to Algeria winning its independence from France in 1962, it was unsafe for Nathalie’s mother to attempt to give birth in Algiers. The family still maintains a residence in Ganges, which is currently home to Nathalie’s 96-year-old mother.  Nathalie can foresee a time in her future when she might return to live in Ganges, and would like a substantial lottery win to help finance the significant restoration work she would like to commission on her home, which has been in the family for 200 years. Despite her emotional attachment to France, Nathalie was raised and educated in Algeria and her love of lamb with spicy, savoury couscous marks her as more of a North African by nurture than a European.

It wasn’t until Nathalie left Algeria at the end of her high school education and went to live in Paris that she started to come out of her shell and experience some of the many adventures the City of Love could offer, paramount of which was independence. Nathalie’s mother served in the military for seven years, including a two-year stint in Vietnam and by all accounts was quite a stern disciplinarian with her only child.  Nathalie’s Parisian sojourn was short-lived, her parents requiring her to return to Algiers in just two years. Nevertheless, Nathalie has fond memories of her childhood.  While not religious herself, Nathalie’s mother ensured Nathalie had undertaken all the required steps in order to complete her confirmation as a Roman Catholic. Still, as a child, the highlight of Easter celebrations remained the egg hunt in the garden at home, a tradition she ensured continued to eventually delight her own children as well.

It was back in Algiers that Nathalie first met Bertrand, in 1983, on his first foreign posting with the French diplomatic services, and the pair quickly formed a serious relationship but didn’t rush into marriage straight away, eventually returning to Paris for several years before Bertrand’s second foreign posting in 1985, four years in Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam.  Married that same year, the couple soon became proud parents to a son, now 38, while in Vietnam, followed quite soon by a daughter, 36, who was born in Bangkok. While being the wife of a diplomat came with privilege and staff, it also had its challenges, with both standards and appearances to be kept up. A young woman and a mother, Nathalie felt somewhat stifled by the restrictions on movement imposed by the ruling Communist regime in Vietnam. She had government employees and was aware that her every move was scrutinised to ensure her compliance with regulations. Nathalie was keenly aware of the lack of decent shopping opportunities and recalls many trips to Thailand with some of the other wives for shopping sprees, which were very enjoyable tastes of freedom.

The young family spent two years back in Paris, with Nathalie engrossed in her role as wife and mother before the next posting, this time to Pretoria in South Africa. One of Nathalie’s significant parenting tasks over the years of her husband’s postings was in assisting her children to manage their responses to changes in education systems, which they faced on a regular basis.  Undoubtedly the children drew comfort from having a mother who loved having new experiences and learning about new places, though Nathalie confided that her outgoing daughter experienced more difficulty managing the repeated changes that her son, with his more reserved disposition. Luckily, children are typically pliant and resilient, and Nathalie's have fared well, despite the challenges. Nathalie’s greatest hopes for the future include seeing her children happy and continuing to make progress in their chosen careers in the law and entertainment management fields, as well as she and Bertrand maintaining good health as they age. Nathalie believes that staying healthy is the key to a fulfilling future and so tries to eat well and exercise regularly with both Zumba and gym workouts, though she has a sweet-tooth, being particularly fond of the cakes and pastries covered in honey of her Algerian childhood. Nathalie has a belief in the power of food as medicine, so sweets are a small guilty pleasure she allows herself. A health scare in 2021 brought the need to live a healthy lifestyle even more strongly into focus for Nathalie.

While living around the world on foreign postings, including Nicaragua and Kenya as well as those places already mentioned, Nathalie faced a complex series of tasks required of wives of diplomats, including hosting major events as well as foreign dignitaries. She became adept at these, always planning and preparing with strong attention to detail. Between postings, Bertrand’s salary was considerably less, and Nathalie needed to find employment to supplement the family’s income. Her paid work life has been varied and sporadic, happening only during her years spent in Paris. Finding jobs that used her specific skill set and natural talents was not easy.  Nathalie’s past jobs included working as a Personal Assistant in several different French government ministries, namely Agriculture, Economy and Industry, where she coincidentally worked for Michel Barnier who in September 2024 became France’s Prime Minister. These positions were draining because of the long hours required. Nathalie also worked as PA to the President of a firm of auditors, being responsible for his daily schedule as well as organising his entire family life, while at the same time trying to keep on top of the needs of her own family.  However, the job Nathalie found most difficult was working in the luxury boutique of Hotel Crillon on the Place de la Concorde on the family’s return to Paris after its Nicaragua sojourn.  Nathalie has always loved perfumes, but was less familiar with some of the other luxury hand-crafted goods for sale, so faced a steep learning curve to become confident in the world of high fashion. Many of the wealthy, high-profile clients were demanding, yet Nathalie needed to meet their requirements with courtesy and diligence. The one attribute Nathalie lacked though was the ability of a true salesperson to encourage an even bigger spend. 

Nathalie’s first encounter with Hua Hin over seven years ago turned into a permanent one. The couple visited Thailand on vacation from Paris, Bertrand already retired from work.  They had no previous knowledge of Hua Hin, though had visited Pattaya and Koh Samui as well as Bangkok. Nathalie’s initial response to seeing the town from Phetkasem Road was far from positive.  The pair rented a villa not far from town and with the help of an agent, five months later their new home was located. Nathalie was quick to orientate herself in the local area and feels very safe and secure, having established relationships with local shopkeepers and neighbours.  She even finds that Hua Hin reminds her of Paris, since in both there can be cute spaces such as a garden or a cosy coffee shop hidden behind a large wooden door or around an unexpected corner.

Nathalie is particularly fond of the expanse of her home with its pool and established tranquil garden, enjoying the possibility of a surprise each morning when she conducts her daily garden walk, where she might just find new shoots or blossoms. Another garden with which Nathalie has a special connection is Chom Dong Villa & Gardens, which belongs to dear friends. Over three years now, Nathalie has volunteered as a garden guide to show visitors around the gardens, with proceeds going to several different charitable causes. Nathalie’s most prominent character strength is her kindness, to both people and animals. She is a keen, empathetic listener and contemplative observer and also a very good cook, so can make people happy merely by chatting with them then feeding them well. Nathalie and Bertrand have just the one cat, Lily, since they enjoy travelling and a home with many pets makes that much more difficult. Instead, Nathalie has been known to volunteer time and money to several of the local animal rescue and welfare services, being equally as fond of dogs as cats.

A committed lifetime learner, Nathalie has a strong attachment to her book collection which she would try to rescue in the event of a fire. She commented, however, that she would face “Sophie’s choice” as she has too many books to be able to rescue them all. In her teenage years Nathalie imagined she would become an archaeologist but her life has turned out to be focuses much more strongly in the present rather than the past. Although Nathalie sees and acknowledge the great progress in science and medicine in her lifetime, she is also aware of the worsening geopolitical situation the world is facing, since following global politics is a must in her family.  Many people world-wide are also reconsidering parenthood amid fears related to geopolitics and the climate crisis, and so Nathalie’s desire for grandchildren remains unfulfilled.

Personally, Nathalie has a strong desire to avoid conflict, describing a situation devoid of conflict as her utopia, though she agrees that you can’t please all of the people all of the time, even within your own family. Nathalie revealed that she believes herself to be too emotional in preferring avoidance over confronting issues with others, but denies it is through laziness on her part. Since her desire for harmony is such an innate personality trait for Nathalie, rather than a habit formed over time, one could certainly postulate that it has made her both the ideal wife for a diplomat, and an easy-going friend to make in a community as multicultural as Hua Hin, where our diversity is a cause for celebration rather than isolation.