The French ambassador’s residence is one of the grandest diplomatic homes in Washington, a Tudor-style manse nestled in towering trees on a bluff overlooking the capital’s Rock Creek.

Over my years as the Monitor’s diplomatic correspondent I’ve attended many press breakfasts there, the mini croissants and pains au chocolat almost as big a draw as the topic that the ambassador or a minister from Paris has summoned the press to discuss.

And before the pandemic disrupted Washington’s social calendar, the residence’s reception rooms played host to some of the city’s most desirable galas and benefits.

Still, no foreign diplomat’s life in Washington is just a string of parties. Over my years here, the French ambassador has had to maneuver delicate moments in Franco-American relations, including France’s opposition to President George W. Bush’s Iraq invasion. Remember when a snitty Congress changed french fries to “freedom fries” on the Capitol’s cafeteria menu?

Given the rigors of the ambassador’s job, one might imagine that the mundane matter of managing a grand residence would be left to others. But I’ve learned that such an assumption is not quite correct.

Earlier this month I attended a press breakfast with Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, minister for international development, to discuss France’s vision for reforming international financing for low-income countries. It was also an opportunity to meet France’s new ambassador to Washington, Laurent Bili, recently reassigned from Beijing.

Arriving at the residence, I noticed scaffolding hugging the walls and workers on the roof. Minutes later, Ambassador Bili was interrupted by the sounds of power tools as he introduced Minister Zacharopoulou. He dispatched an aide to quiet the saws, but the calm was short-lived. Next it was banging hammers – at which we all laughed.

Later, as we departed, Ambassador Bili was out on the front steps, bidding everyone au revoir – and surveilling the project up on the roof.

I told him I recalled that not many years ago, the residence had been shuttered while the building’s systems and interior were totally renovated. True, he responded, but now it’s a leaking roof and unstable chimneys. With a shrug, he added, “Apparently with these old residences, there’s always a new problem to tend to.”

At which my colleague Tracy Wilkinson of the Los Angeles Times quipped, “That’s homeownership!”

Even, it seems, for the French ambassador.