Serbia and France established contacts as early as the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the marriage of King Uroš with Princess Jelena of Anjou. The modern era brings new contacts between the two countries at the beginning of the 19th century, at the time of the First Serbian Uprising, and the formal establishment of diplomatic relations took place in 1839, when France opened the first consulate in the Principality of Serbia. The second half of the 19th century brought an intensification of relations and cultural influence brought to Serbia by numerous ”French students”, among whom were members of both Serbian dynasties, which led to the strengthening of French friendship with Serbia, which was especially confirmed by the alliance in the First World War, when France stood by Serbia from the beginning, helping it financially, but also through numerous medical missions, treating Serbian wounded in French hospitals, educating Serbian pupils and students in French schools and finally, in brotherhood in arms – the joint battles of Serbian and French soldiers at the Salonica front. Today, Belgrade is the only city outside of France to be awarded the Legion of Honour, and Belgrade’s bohemian district of Skadarlija is the only one in the world that is twinned with Montmartre in Paris.
