Paris is getting a four-day taste of the Dominican Republic. Dominican Week in France 2026 opened on Monday, October 19, with a ceremony at the Dominican Embassy attended by Culture Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo, Ambassador David Puig and France's Minister Delegate for Industry Sébastien Martin. Organised with the Franco-Dominican Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the programme runs until October 22 and mixes politics and trade with a genuinely appealing cultural line-up.
The standout events for anyone with a soft spot for the Caribbean: an exhibition called "Improbable Archipelago. The Dominican Worlds of José Castillo" at the Maison de l'Amérique Latine, and the launch of a Dominican Republic × Cité internationale des arts residency that will give Dominican artists international placements in the French capital. It's a signal that the country is working hard to build a cultural footprint in Europe, not just sell beaches.
Food gets its moment too. Chef Dayanny de la Cruz is serving a menu that blends Dominican and French influences — think Caribbean ingredients and technique meeting Parisian polish. If you've only ever met Dominican food as street-side sancocho or a beachside plate of fried fish, this fusion take is an interesting window into how the cuisine is evolving.
The rest of the agenda leans business: meetings at the OECD, Business France and both houses of the French parliament, plus talks on trade, investment and energy transition. Dominican companies are also showing up at SIAL Paris, one of the world's biggest food innovation fairs, pitching export products from coffee and cocoa to rum and tropical produce. For travellers, that matters indirectly — the more Dominican goods and culture reach European shelves and galleries, the more the country becomes a destination people feel they already half-know.
Why care? Because this kind of week is often a preview. Countries that invest in cultural diplomacy in Paris tend to follow up with better flight links, tourism campaigns and softer entry experiences for European visitors. If you've been mulling the Dominican Republic beyond Punta Cana — the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo, the mountains around Jarabacoa, the Samaná whale season — this is a good moment to start paying attention.
Full story via Dominican Today.
