Days of Discovery Levitte, Wife of French Ambassador, Prefers Hands-On Approach by Gail Scott Ask any diplomat in Washington, and they will tell you they would love to live in the French residence, the handsome city estate that serves as the centerpiece of the coveted Kalorama neighborhood and boasts a staff of 14, including the dean of embassy chefs, Francis Layrle. Madame Marie-CÈcile Levitte, wife of the French ambassador, agreed: "Itís a great privilege to be in Washington," she said, "with this house, with this team. It is so important to be here at this time Ö to represent France in the United StatesÖ. We are here for the image of our country. We are not here for us. "We arrived at the most important time," she added. "It was the beginning of the [Iraq] war, and we were the hosts for the Opera Ball that next June," she recalled, raising her eyebrows. "It was a challenge for our country." It was December 2002, and French President Jacques Chirac was outspoken in his opposition to the impending war in Iraq and trans-Atlantic relations were at a new low with Americaís old ally. French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, a career diplomat who had been diplomatic adviser to Chirac , was asked to leave New York and his post at the United Nations and come to Washington to smooth relations with President Bush and the American people. After 34 years of marriage and 20 moves between Paris and Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, Geneva and back to New York, Marie-CÈcile remembered, in vivid detail, how they finally arrived here in the middle of the night. "There was no official welcome because it was so late that Thursday night after your first big snowstorm. We finally got here at two in the morning Ö but we had to come since my husband was going to the White House the next day." The Levittes had stayed in the grand 34-room residence earlier that summer as guests of their good friends, former Ambassador FranÁois Bujon de líEstang and his wife Anne. But they had no idea they would be moving in before Christmas. "Anne did a fabulous job in this residence. I just spoke to her this morning," Marie-CÈcile said, obviously still in close touch with her friend. In fact, the two ambassadorsí wives met several times in preparation for the change. "We had meetings all morning long. She gave me perfect help." But it was only until after Marie-CÈcile moved in did she "realize that I had a full-time job." According to this seasoned diplomatic spouse, itís always the first few days of the posting that are the hardest. The ambassadors go to their offices and the children go to their schools, but the spouses are left to discover everything by themselves. We were sitting in the bright and modern living room decorated by her predecessor, a dramatic contrast to the rest of the formal rooms. Marie-CÈcile, a petite size-four figure, always wears French clothes, "except for American T-shirts and jeans." When I ask how she stays so slim, she laughed. "I move constantly, I never use the lift. When I donít have an official luncheon, I usually eat very lightly. I have more energy without it. "I am very hands-on, detailed person," this native-born Parisian added. "It is my job to be team leader, energize everyone. Some would say Iím a perfectionist." Her social secretary Denise, who has just joined us, nodded her head in obvious agreement. Every Monday morning, Marie-CÈcile meets with Denise, the chef, first butler and residence manager to discuss the week of non-stop entertaining ahead. "In the beginning, I was depressed. There are so many thingsólunches, dinners and constant house guests. We adjust our schedules here every two hours," she said. "There are many parts to this job besides the social life. I have to oversee the budget and the correspondence, receive official visitors sent from the foreign ministry, do all the accounting each month, and sign all the checks. We have a superb staff but I am responsible for coordinating life at the residence," Marie-CÈcile explained. "I canít compare the job here with New York where we lived in a duplex on Park Avenue and 71st, had a staff of three, and I did the flowers myself." To Marie-CÈcile, Washington is "one of the most beautiful cities in the world." Despite her demanding schedule, she said Beijing was their hardest post, having arrived there directly from bustling Hong Kong, a shopperís paradise. "When we arrived in Beijing from Hong Kong in 1972 at the middle of the Cultural Revolution, for me, it was another planet," she recalled. "I wrote my first letter home to my mother and said, ëI think I am on the moon.í" With only enough Mandarin Chinese to understand some basic conversation and shop by herself, Marie-CÈcileís daily job was to go to the wholesale market and buy fish, anything wrapped in Chinese newspaper, then come home and smooth out the paper and dry it with her hair dryer so her husband could read it for the news. "The Chinese were told not to speak to us Ö and we had only their official journal, no Internet," she said. "This was the only way for us to learn what was going on." Later, she learned to take her flashlight with her when searching for blue-and-white antique porcelain in the dark, dusty shops of Beijing. The prized collection is displayed here in the residence. "There were the Chinese and then there were the diplomatsóseparate, very closed like in a compoundÖ. It was a huge move because we had to bring all our food, our coffee, tomato juice. I had to plan ahead for dinner parties of eight and take enough of everything," Marie-CÈcile said. "We could order things from Hong Kong, but they were very expensive and if we ordered from Europe, it took six to seven months and came by Trans-Siberian Express through Moscow." One month after arriving in Beijing, Marie-CÈcile learned she was pregnant. "I ordered everything I could from Osterman in Finland for my baby: mineral water, diapers. I had nothing." After months of going to a Chinese hospital for prenatal check-ups, she decided to return to Paris to have their first child. More than eight months pregnant, Marie-CÈcile flew alone through Shanghai to Karachi. "But the football team from Albania was onboard so they announced that we were going to Albania instead. It was 22 hours before I got to Paris," she recalled. Six weeks later, she returned with baby Camille in her arms. "It was Air Franceís first non-stopóa little bit of France coming to Beijing. The chief hostess was a friend, and she would bring us vaccinations, newspapers, presents from my mother." After that, once every 10 months, Marie-CÈcile returned to Paris with her baby to visit her mother and bring supplies back. To this day, "I get nervous when I see boxes and tape," she admitted. "I donít like to pack up." But during two postings in New York, this Parisian fell in love with the Big Apple. "I am fascinated by New Yorkóthe driving energy Ö where everything is possible. Itís like a permanent show. But it makes me a little sad. Itís better to be rich and healthy in New York than poor and sick," she said. "Here, it is completely different. In New York, you live with your U.N. family of 191 countries. You donít need to know Manhattan. But in Washington, you work day and night, weekends too, with so many different kinds of people. Here, helping charities with fundraising events is a major part of the job," she said. "We have 150 embassies around the world and in 40 [percent] to 50 percent of those, the ambassador is there alone," she explained. "But here in Washington, itís always a couple. The job is so big." To get everything done, the Levittes always stay up until after midnight. "We check our e-mail and talk," she said. "I call my daughter Mathilde in New York every night before going to bed." And she sends an e-mail to Paris where her older daughter Camille and her son-in-law Laurent, parents of the Levittesí only grandchild, live. Over coffee the next morning, Marie-CÈcile relishes reading their overnight response. "Iím old-fashioned," she said. "I need my daughters with me." In addition to keeping up with the family, this ambassadorís wife creates a dossier on every event and trip. On the backs of business cards she and her husband bring home, she even draws thumbnail sketches to better remember the people she met. Before house and dinner guests arrive, she knows what they like and everything is kept in files. With relatives and friends all over the world, this ambassadorís wife is often busy at her computer desk. But at another desk in the same room, she takes pride in handwriting each thank-you note and long letter on handsome French stationery. She also loves to write mini-memoirs on special occasions and moments she doesnít want to forget. When I mention what time that takes, she exclaimed, "Iím ëlazyí in comparison to my husband! He works in the car, in the plane, everywhere." Ask Ambassador Levitte about his wife and youíll learn how succinct and dramatic he can be. "In this hectic life, I simply would not survive without her." It was in 1967 when Marie-CÈcile was on a two-week organized trip to Corsica for students that she first met Jean-David Levitte, who was three years older. "I was with two friends, and we were sailing and horseback riding, staying in a small bungalow on the beach," she said, glancing away, remembering simpler days. "I thought he was handsome and clever, and we exchanged phone numbers," expecting to see each other back in Paris where he was studying Chinese, Indonesian and law. They did and when she had an invitation to travel to Istanbul with friends but needed an escort, she invited Jean-David along. "Thatís why Turkey will always have a special place in our hearts," she said. In September 1969, they were engaged, with the notice appearing in Le Figaroís and Le Mondeís "Carnet du Jour," and married the following March. "Jean-David joined the Foreign Ministry in that year, and from the beginning it was natural for me to work and then, when we had children, to take care of them." When she does have time to herself, she loves to read, listen to music, and walk on the C&O Canal or dash down to Dupont Circle for her favorite American treat at Krispy Kreme. To Marie-CÈcile, the French connection to America is personal. "I knew from the time I was 4 or 5, that the American people came to help us during [Word War II]," said the woman who cherishes the close family ties she has had with four generations of Americans to whom she is distantly related. "Each year we see each other in New York. American life is part of my education and upbringing," she said. She ranks being present at the 60th anniversary of D-Day this year in Normandy as the single most important public moment of her life. "We stayed and talked with the veterans, not the VIPís," she said. "One female veteran, a nurse, read a personal letter from another veteran too ill to return. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out some sand. She tossed it onto the beach, then leaned down and took some Normandy sand home. Thatís a memory for me, forever." The next Diplomatic Spouses column will feature Sandra de Canahuati, wife of the Honduran ambassador. Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.