Dominique Chassard is a busy man. His schedule is hectic, unpredictable and often keeps him on his feet (at cocktail parties or playing the violin) or sitting down (for dinners, meetings or television interviews) until late at night. He is the French ambassador to Bulgaria and freely admits that for him and his wife the job is their life.

Mr. Chassard has been in Bulgaria for two and a half years and will be leaving for Paris at the end of August. His daughter has just completed her studies at Sofia's French Secondary School and he wants her to study for her baccalaureate in France. His future depends on the whims of the French foreign ministry - "If they propose that you work somewhere else it's unwise to refuse," he said, "you never know how this may affect you." Ideally he would like to stay in France to be closer to his family.

For most of the past decade, he has been posted abroad. After six years in Germany, he worked in Russia and the Ukraine before coming to Bulgaria. His job has taken him all over the country and has given him the chance to indulge his passion for the violin. He has played at more than 30 concerts in Bulgaria. For him it's an excellent way of mixing diplomacy with pleasure. "It's a very good promotion for French music and for the French presence here," he said.

Music has allowed him to meet a wide variety of people, something he values greatly as he acknowledges that in his position there is the risk of only mixing with those in the so-called high circles. "At receptions, there are always the same people - often from other embassies - you see these people four or five times a week. It's very important to escape this." Being involved with Bulgarian orchestras has brought him close to `everyday' people. "When you are a musician and you enter that environment, people forget that you are an ambassador."

Local people often approach him when he travels around Bulgaria. "They recognize my face from the media and are always surprised that I speak another language - they expect that the French ambassador speaks only French."

He is conscious that many foreigners perceive the French as being arrogant and nationalistic and welcomes the opportunity to change people's negative ideas. "We are right to be proud of what France is. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your country but that doesn't mean that you have the right to close yourself or tell others what they should do," he said, and pointed out that the French are no more nationalistic than the Bulgarians or Russians. He feels that one of the achievements of his time here is that the image of France is "perhaps a bit better."

Over the last two years, France has developed its military co-operation with Bulgaria and expanded French cultural and linguistic activities here, though Mr. Chassard modestly suggested that this had more to do with France's presidency of the EU than his own efforts. President Petar Stoyanov appeared to disagree on Friday when he awarded Mr. Chassard with the Stara Planina, Bulgaria's highest order. The award was for Mr. Chassard's personal contribution to improving bilateral relations. "Bulgaria is losing a true friend," said President Stoyanov.

Although France's presidency of the EU (July to December 2000) was a great occasion for Mr. Chassard, it was a huge amount of work and he was relieved when it ended. It was also a burden for his wife, who works in the ambassador's residence, receiving and welcoming guests, "but she's always busy," he said with a smile.

Their free time is limited and whenever possible they use it to spend with their daughter. Mr. Chassard mentioned that he likes to take his dog walking in the Vitosha Mountains and I asked if he found it hard to get away from his bodyguards and black limousine. Looking quite horrified, he said, "I have no security guards - my car is dark blue and I drive myself everywhere."

At weekends, when their French cook is off, Mr. and Mrs. Chassard like to test out Sofia's restaurants. Mr. Chassard thinks they have tried almost every Bulgarian dish and his favourite is chushki byurek (stuffed peppers). "I like Bulgarian food, it's very interesting for me," he says. As for Bulgarian wine: "What we have drunk has been of good quality but we always serve French wine in the residence as our guests expect that."

One of the perks of being posted in Bulgaria is that embassy staff are paid a higher salary than their counterparts in western Europe. "When new employees arrive here, I think they are perhaps a little afraid of what they will find - but after a couple of days they are very happy," he said. "People in Paris consider that perhaps Bulgaria is a difficult country to live in, which is, of course, not the truth. But we don't tell them this, we just say it's normal that we should have better pay - if we tell them it's a paradise, they'll cut our salary!"