Politics
Sibeth Ndiaye, the spokesperson for the French government, met with the Anglo-American Press Association on November 14th, 2019.
In a 90 minute group interview, Ndiaye discussed her attachment to France, her relationship with President Emmanuel Macron, how the crisis of the Gilets Jaunes has changed his policies, Franco-American relations, sectarianism in France, the reasons behind the strike scheduled for December 5th, pension reform, the accusation of rape against film director Roman Polanski, racism against herself,…
Preparing for Brexit - the Irish Angle
With Brexit possibly going ahead on October 31, with or without a deal, the implications for Ireland are manifold and complicated. A high-ranking Irish diplomat sat down with AAPA members at the Irish Embassy for a background briefing on the latest progress in talks, the risks of a no-deal Brexit, the high stakes for Ireland, and some of the plans already in place to limit the chaos if Britain…
Europe Minister de Montchalin tells AAPA that France’s Brexit red lines stand
One of the newest and youngest members of the French government met the Anglo-American Press Association in late June to talk about some of the most important issues facing France and Europe. Amélie de Montchalin was appointed Secretary of State for European Affairs only three months earlier, taking over from Nathalie Loiseau who had quit the government to lead President Emmanuel Macron’s party…
Will Madame Le Pen Make a Comeback?
The AAPA met with Rassemblement National head Marine Le Pen on Feb 15, 2019. The last time we saw France’s right wing figurehead two years ago she was running for president and riding high in the polls. Le Pen may have lost to Macron in May 2017, but she’s far from finished. As the French president struggles to regain his footing after the yellow vest uprising, Le Pen’s popularity is steadily…
Interpol Chief Warns of New Terrorist Threat
Europe is facing a new “Isis 2.0” wave of terrorism from radicalised individuals returning from conflict zones in the Middle East to their home countries and jailed jihadists who will be completing relatively short prison terms in the next few years, Interpol’s Secretary General Jürgen Stock told the AAPA. Speaking to some 30 members on Dec. 19, Mr. Stock remarked that prisons act as incubators…
Macron's advisors talk diplomacy with the AAPA
Three of Emmanuel Macron's foreign policy advisors - Philippe Étienne, Aurélien Lechevallier, and Clément Beaune - met with members of the Anglo-American Press Association in an off-the-record event at the Elysée during which they spoke at length of the president's objectives for France on the European and world stage. Photo: AAPA
Benjamin Griveaux provides insider’s view of the Macron administration
Brexit, Germany, European parliamentary elections, the economy, Islam in France, and Corsican nationalism were among the many topics government spokesman and cabinet member Benjamin Griveaux discussed with the AAPA at a meeting on February 12. Griveaux was spokesman for Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign and over lunch with 28 members of the Association, he recounted the foundation of Macron’s…
Diplomat Briefs AAPA on Franco-American Relations
One year after the election of Donald Trump to the White House, relations between France and the United States remain “extremely good”, and are underpinned by military cooperation between the two countries, a senior French diplomat told the AAPA on Nov. 17. “The relationship between France and the U.S. has never been so intense in military terms,” the official told the group of nearly 40 AAPA…
Macron’s Big Challenges Are Still to Come: Pollsters
In the midst of an extraordinary French political season, pollsters Edouard Lecerf of Kantar Public, Bruno Jeanbart of OpinionWay, and Jérôme Fourquet of Ifop spoke to members of the Anglo-American Press Association for a second time this year to make sense of a shake-up that continues to reverberate around us. The three polling experts met with some 20 AAPA members on June 6, just a few days…
Political Scientist Sees Bumpy Road Ahead for Macron
Dominique Reynié, CEO of the think tank Foundation for Political Innovation (Fondapol--liberal, progressive and European) and professor at Sciences Po, spent nearly two hours on June 2 sharing his thoughts with the AAPA on topics ranging from Emmanuel Macron’s election as president to the miscasting of Gérard Collomb as interior minister. Democracy has been plunged into a historic crisis by three…