The French Institute in Taipei held a Bastille Day reception Tuesday to celebrate France's 220th national day, in which the France's top representative to Taiwan praised the close relations between Taiwan and his country. 'Many developments have been seen in bilateral relations despite the dire global economic situation, and the most impressive developments have been in the cultural area, ' Patrick Bonneville, director of the French Institute in Taipei, said at the function, which was attended by Vice Foreign Minister David Lin and members of the diplomatic corps. Bonneville was referring to the 'unprecedented success' of the exhibition 'Millet and His Time: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay, ' which attracted 800,000 visitors last year, as well as a recently concluded exhibition of art collections from the Pompidou Center that drew 200,000 visitors. He also announced that the institute will hold a function in September to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the French-Taiwan Grand Prize, which represents the long-term close scientific cooperation between the two countries. Lin for his part noted that Taiwan and France have close relations in many fields and that bilateral trade reached over US$6 billion last year, making France Taiwan's third-largest trading partner in Europe. Moreover, the vice foreign minister went on, France has a long and glorious history well-known for its refined culture and rich traditions and the people of Taiwan have deep affection for French art and culture, as well as its achievements in science and technology, architecture, literature and fashion. 'Over the past few years, Taiwan and France have enjoyed frequent and wide- ranging exchanges and cooperation in many areas, and such deep relations have continued to grow stably,' Lin stated. 'I believe that as our cooperative relations move forward on the basis of openness and reciprocity, both countries will reap the benefits,' he added. Bastille Day commemorates the Fete de la Federation, held in 1790 on the first anniversary of the July 14, 1789 storming of the Bastille prison that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. 