La Faculté de médecine de l’Université Saint-Joseph : 125 ans de coopération franco-libanaise au service de la santé

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The Mediterranean--mare nostrum--has always been a cradle of exchanges for the different inhabitants of its shores, as highlighted by myths and legends dating back to antiquity. Cooperation between France and Lebanon expanded markedly in the 17th century and has continually expanded since, in fields such as education, through initiatives launched by the French government and by religious institutions. The Faculty of Medicine is an excellent example. The instigator was the Society of Jesus, which had created St Joseph University in 1875, eventually being supported by the French government. Following an agreement signed on 7 May 1883 between the Society of Jesus and the French authorities, the medical school opened on November 30th of the same year. The school soon became a faculty, and was managed until 1976 by a chancellor who answered to a French academic institution and delivered French state medical degrees. In 1976, however, following changes to the statutes of St Joseph University and the Faculty, the latter became a fully fledged Lebanese Faculty of Medicine delivering its diplomas through St Joseph University. The faculty soon needed a hospital complex to meet its students' medical needs. After some trials with local hospitals, it was decided to build the facility from scratch, and to name it Hotel Dieu de France. Construction was financed by the French government, and by a subscription launched by the French Press Syndicate, at the initiative of the newspaper Le Temps and at the request of the French Asia Committee (Comité de l'Asie Française). The Hospital was inaugurated on May 27, 1923. It soon encompassed a French maternity unit and cancer center, thus constituting the French Hospital Association (Association Hospitalière Française). In 1984, following an agreement between the French government and St Joseph University, Hotel Dieu became the property of the university, and the vice-chancellor became chairman of the board. The transfer of the faculty and Hotel Dieu to Lebanese authority did not spell an end to French support. Indeed, France continues to take an active part in the development of these two institutions through visiting professors and training for young doctors. Symbolically, the hospital is still called Hotel Dieu de France.