Society
Whither the bistro après-Covid? A French chef responds
Alain Fontaine, bistrotier and bon vivant who operates in the beating heart of Paris, honored AAPA with a meeting on June 25. Besides his toque, Fontaine wears two other hats: he is president of the Association Française des Maîtres Restaurateurs -- essentially chefs who insist on preparing all meals on site from fresh, raw ingredients -- and he is spearheading a drive to win UNESCO recognition…
Fashion's Commitment to Sustainability: Kering CSO Speaks to the AAPA
Kering's Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs, Marie-Claire Daveu, hosted the AAPA at a morning coffee on December 3 at Kering's headquarters on the rue de Sèvres in a historic building that -- until 2000 -- housed the Laennec hospital. Kering was appointed by French president Emmanuel Macron to head the country's effort to make fashion more sustainable. It…
SAFE HAVEN FOR JOURNALISTS - La Maison des Journalistes
Since its creation in 2002, La Maison des Journalistes has assisted almost 400 journalists from over 60 countries in the difficult task of starting a new life. This non-profit organization, the only one of its kind in the world, offers a safe haven to journalists who have had to flee their home countries due to oppression from authoritarian regimes. MDJ serves as a beacon for the defense of press…
Ex-NATO chief, former U.S. Homeland launch campaign against election meddling
Former NATO chief Anders Rasmussen and ex-U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff sounded the alarm over meddling in elections by Russia and other nations during a meeting with the AAPA on November 12. “Russia has declared war against our democratic system,” Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister said. “Putin wrongly sees our values as a threat.” Rasmussen and Chertoff have teamed up…
French Bill Gates Says Giving is the Way of the Future
Twenty years ago as an enthusiastic entrepreneur, Alexandre Mars, confidently predicted the success of the Internet and the mobile telephone. Today, as a middle-aged philanthropist (having profited himself from his predictions), he is forecasting that corporate giving is the next big thing. Mars spoke to the AAPA on Friday May 18 at a breakfast gathering at Strategies & Corp in Paris. He now…
‘Sociologist of emotions’ Eva Illouz on #MeToo and French versus ‘Anglo-Saxon’ sexual mores
The US-educated Franco-Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz spoke to the Anglo-American Press Association for two hours on February 21st at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris, where she teaches. Illouz is a leading expert in the study of feminism and male-female relationships. She explained how the #MeToo movement sparked by accusations against film producer Harvey Weinstein is…
Machines Aren’t Our Friends, Media Moguls Tell AAPA
In this new industrial age, machines are going after white collar jobs...brain power jobs. In the words of Hilary Clinton, "Machines are not our friends." That thought was echoed by Fred Raillard & Farid Mokart at a breakfast gathering for the AAPA in the Paris headquarters of their media company FF Creative Community on December 12. “Regulations are the only thing that will save us,” Fred…
Islam Foundation Head Says Muslims Should Try More to Integrate
France’s decision to name a non-Muslim to head its Foundation for Islam, in the wake of the terrorist attack during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice this summer, was always controversial. Since then, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, a hardline secularist, has not backed away from expressing even more divisive views. He told a group of two dozen AAPA members on Nov. 7 that it was Muslims who needed to…
Freelancers Get Expert Advice at AAPA/NUJ Joint Seminar
How do you survive and prosper as a freelance writer in France at a time when the media industry in undergoing such rapid change? Participants at our third freelance seminar (the first two took place in 1995 and 2004) on Oct. 15 heard some of the answers. The five-hour session at the Maison de Métallos in the 11th arrondissement was the second freelance seminar organised jointly by the AAPA and…
AAPA’s June Gala Was Another Big Hit
The 2016 AAPA Gala was another resounding success this year despite the showery weather that kept us indoors. Held on Tuesday, June 14, at the residence of our honorary co-president U.S. Ambassador Jane D. Hartley, it attracted 87 members and their guests over appetizers and free-flowing champagne and wine. U.K. Ambassador Sir Julian King, our other honorary co-president, joined in the…