Economics
PSA’s Car-Racing Boss Tavares Meets the AAPA
A dozen AAPA members now have a better grasp of CEO compensation, vehicle emissions standards, labor relations and how to pull a 200-year-old company from the brink of bankruptcy after meeting with Carlos Tavares, the fast-revving chief executive of Groupe PSA. Speaking at a relaxed breakfast at PSA’s Paris headquarters, Mr. Tavares revealed that he had been motivated by other factors than money…
Uber Lays Out its French Woes to the AAPA
14 stalwarts of the AAPA who met Uber France chief Thibaud Simphal on Feb. 24 came away with a better understanding of the controversy and legal battle being waged between the upstart digital economy car-riding company and entrenched French interests. The timing of the meeting was perfect given the ongoing taxi wars in France and the government's promise to help out the traditional cabbies.…
Eurozone’s Greek Strategy Is Flawed: Piketty
It would be a catastrophe for the Eurozone if Greece were pushed out," Thomas Piketty, France's 'super economist' told over 30 members of the AAPA, as it would "spell the beginning of the end for the single currency". Mr. Piketty, author of the best-selling book 'Capital in the 21st century,' met with over 30 AAPA members at the Paris School of Economics where he gave his views on…
French Finance Minister Urges UK to Stay in EU
Britain and the European Union as a whole would lose out if the U.K. were to opt to leave the EU, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin has warned. “If the UK forfeits its place in the EU, then Europe would be weakened and the UK would also be worse off. It has to stay in,” he told over 20 AAPA members over breakfast at the Finance Ministry on Nov. 20. “But the British will…
Pascal Lamy Doubts Trade Sanctions Against Russia's Putin Will Change Much
As the US and the EU consider tougher, coordinated economic sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and possible, similar plans for other Russian-speaking regions, Pascal Lamy, who stepped down as head of the World Trade Organization last autumn, told members March 24 that sanctions have not worked in most previous cases and doubts they will work now. …
Airbus CEO Hits Out at Boeing Over Subsidies
Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Brégier slammed Boeing Co when he met with the AAPA on March 20, saying Boeing's planned 777X wide-body airliner is the most subsidised aircraft in the world. The E.U. and the U.S. have been at loggerheads for years over claims and counter-claims of unfair subsidies for their commercial aircraft building champions, and are engaged in a protracted dispute…
French Minister Deplores Lack of Transparency in US-EU Trade Talks
During our third meeting with a minister from Bercy this year, Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq gave the AAPA an exclusive insight into the government's foreign trade policy, while answering some tough questions on France's positions in the ongoing U.S.-Europe trade talks. Hosting a lunch for 18 AAPA members on Nov. 15 on the top floor of the Finance Ministry, Mme. Bricq said the U.S.…
Finance Minister Spills the Beans on Growth Outlook
Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici created news when he revealed exclusively to the AAPA on Feb.18 that the government was moving away from its earlier pledge to bring its budget deficit down to 3% of gross domestic product this year, arguing that Europe's recession had created an "exceptional" situation requiring less austerity. The minister's comments were picked up widely…
New State Bank On The Prowl For Borrowers and Projects
Nicolas Dufourcq, the new head of the French government's Banque Publique d'Investissement, says that one of the greatest obstacles he faces is finding viable projects, not money. The state bank was created last year to help small and medium-sized companies overcome difficulties in obtaining financing from traditional sources of funding. At a lunch hosted by the bank for some twenty AAPA members…
Montebourg Hosts AAPA at Bercy
Fostering the "reshoring" of French companies that have chosen to relocate overseas and encouraging French people to prefer products "Made in France," are just two of the tasks set for Industrial Revival Minister Arnaud Montebourg by President Francois Hollande, Mr. Montebourg told some 30 Anglo-American Press Association members on Jan. 8. During a lunch kindly hosted by Mr.…