For the tiny number selected to attend France’s elite schools like the Ecole Nationale d’Administration and the Ecole Polytechnique the rewards are huge. These top education factories produce the self-confident, sometimes arrogant, people at the pinnacle of society, the government ministers and especially the civil servants in their cabinets, the CEOs of companies, the top financiers. They tend to be the same sort of people from the same schools who take part in competitive exams for which they have been prepared since childhood.

However, the author notes that those chosen aren’t always the best suited for the role, while the losers are marked for life.  While this culture is able to produce a tiny number of brilliant and charming men and women who constitute the ruling class, it leaves the vast majority of the population frustrated, de-motivated or feeling discarded, he says.

Peter Gumbel speaks with some inside knowledge having spent time lecturing at Science Po as well as having been part of the school’s administration. He argues that, at a time when France is struggling to maintain its place in the world, this elitist culture is a handicap, not an advantage.

“France is badly served by its elites. They are brilliant at writing reports, but much less skilled at putting the conclusions into practice. In business, companies with an “old-boy” network of directors who went to the same schools perform relatively poorly. In the public sector, France’s elite has missed out on some of the most important developments of the past two decades to improve the efficiency and transparency of public administration,” he says.

Peter Gumbel’s web site: www.petergumbel.fr<http://www.petergumbel.fr>
English e-book edition and French paper edition entitled “Elite Academy: Enquête sur la France malade de ses grandes écoles” and published by Denoël are both available on Amazon.

Despite a hectic schedule and pressing affairs of state, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault took time out to host a lunch for AAPA members at Hotel Matignon on April 11 during which he explained the priorities for his government and addressed some of the challenges facing France and Europe today.

In a relaxed atmosphere in one of the dining rooms at his prestigious residence, Ayrault, in combative form, reviewed his policy reforms over the past 10 months and his strategy and priorities for the coming four years.

Fourteen keen AAPA journalists and the Prime Minister discussed the current economic climate in France and, more broadly, challenges seen from a European and global perspective. The thorny issues of corruption and the project to create a banking union in Europe were also addressed.

After almost two hours of the “getting-to-know-you” talks, and in-depth insights into the Prime Minister’s thinking, all agreed the meeting was useful and convivial and should be repeated.

—John Keating

It was almost like a scene from “Night at the Museum,” starring Ben Stiller. Except it was “Day Off at Versailles,” starring the Anglo-American Press Association.

The event aired on Monday, March 18th, when about 40 of us got a wonderful “insiders” tour of the Chateau de Versailles on the day when its doors are closed to the public.

We followed museum historian and curator Beatrix Saule, who led us through the halls, salons and bedrooms of Louis XIV’s palace, regaling us with tales about how the court lived. Her giant set of keys jingling, Ms. Saule took us through unlocked doors and behind the scenes. We discovered some amazing things. For example, Marie Antoinette’s heavy, brocade bedspread was found at a New York antique dealer’s in the 1960s! As it turns out, getting back the palace’s furnishings is one of the top concerns of every Versailles curator.

The court was chased from the chateau by a mob on October 5, 1789, and all the furnishings were taken. That’s the reference date curators use in reconstituting and decorating the palace today. Ms. Saule told us that chairs, tables and all sorts of items are still being found the world over. We saw a recently acquired, lovely little writing desk that also belonged to Marie Antoinette. It was discovered in a private home. Versailles bought it back for seven million euros! Donors are key to such acquisitions and important restoration projects. American donors are among the most generous, dating from the days of Nelson Rockefeller in the 1920s. Google recently financed and helped design a stunning, 11-room, 3-D virtual exhibit that now kicks off every tourist’s visit to Versailles.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of our visit was being able to climb scaffolding, one-by-one to the top of a room and witness a restoration project up close. Restorers were fixing the cracks and touching up the ceiling painting in the Salon d’Abondance. We were able to talk to the artists as they dabbed with their tiny brushes at the magnificent fresco.

The visit was topped off with a lovely buffet lunch overlooking the palace courtyard. There we were able to speak in a relaxed fashion with Ms. Saule, and other Versailles officials including President Catherine Pegard.

- Eleanor Beardsley

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 by French media, giving our association some nice publicity.

The one-hour on-the-record meeting over breakfast in the ministry’s dining room, with over twenty of us attending, covered a wide range of other key topics: how the G20 at just-ended meeting in Moscow had rejected competitive devaluations; recessionary conditions in Europe; continuing close relations and consultations with the Obama Administration; progress in reining in France’s structural deficit; his support for a leftist government in Italy; and for the success of the so-called “Robin Hood” tax on international financial transactions now supported by eleven EU members.

Many attending filed articles, and here is a selected, thumbnail rundown of what was published, as the word circulated quickly that the news broke in a meeting with the Anglo-American Press Association of Paris.

+ From The New York Times by Committee Member Steven Erlanger: Quoting Moscovici: “I don’t think our credibility will be damaged if something exceptional intervenes… If we have a deeper recession, we’ll have an even tougher time meeting our targets. We must not add austerity to the risk of recession.”

+ From Reuters by Committee Member Catherine Bremer: “France will await European Commission growth forecasts this week before deciding on whether to adjust its 2013 fiscal plans, but any change should not affect its credibility, its finance minister said on Monday. ‘I don’t think our credibility will be damaged if something exceptional intervenes,’ Pierre Moscovici had a breakfast meeting with foreign media.”

+ From Bloomberg by Members Mark Deen and Gregory Viscusi: “The government is also being careful on any plan to re-introduce a 75% tax on earnings over 1 million euros ($1.34 million) after it was struck down by courts.’The 75 percent tax is an important reform…an exceptional tax for exceptional times…I’d like to do a 75 percent, but if we can’t we won’t do it. I don’t want another sanction,’ the minister said.”

+ From Dow Jones by Vice President David Pearson: “In Monday’s meeting with the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris, Mr. Moscovici rejected the idea that the state may end up taking a stake in the capital of troubled car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen. The state ‘isn’t going to make automobiles,’ he said, adding that ‘we must avoid as much as possible – now and in the foreseeable future – that the state becomes a shareholder.”

As our meeting was ending, Mr. Moscovici told us that he would like to make our meeting a regular event.

—Axel Krause

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met February 6 with close to 40 AAPA  members to discuss France’s priorities and concerns in the foreign policy domain.

In an ornate setting at the Quai d’Orsay, Fabius went “off the record” to explain his government’s concerns about Europe, Syria, Lebanon, Mali, Iran, the Middle East Peace Process and many other topics.

For about 90 minutes, in a relaxed, round-table format, the Foreign Minister gave his vision of how the international community should tackle the crises at hand, noting the difficulties of getting consensus in several areas and stating how he thought France could influence developments.

On Europe, he stressed that the EU budget talks “were not easy” but expressed hopes that the longer-term objectives could be balanced with shorter-term considerations – a compromise which was visibly the outcome of the EU Summit on February 7-8.

Fabius, who underlined his close involvement with EU issues, indicated areas where Europe was working well energy and “enhanced cooperation,” for example, – and he was very reticent about any moves towards what he has publicly labeled “a self-service Europe.”

But he said that there could be a move towards a differentiated Europe whereby some countries would have the option of moving faster with certain policies while others might take a different, albeit slower, path.

Speaking “on-the-record” on Mali, Fabius said that France had no intention of maintaining its 4,000 troops in that country and could start reducing the number of troops in March, conditions on the ground permitting. He said the aim was to replace French forces with an African force, which is already being deployed.

But he went a step further in saying that France also wanted a UN “blue-helmet” force to be the ultimate peace-keepers in Mali and this could take place as soon as April.

France is anxious to hand over the “operational and financial” responsibility in Mali to the UN, he remarked.

Fabius also urged renewed efforts for peace in the Middle East, where “the ups and downs” are good for no-one, including Israel.

Recent contacts February 4 with U.S. Secretary-of-State John Kerry addressed this issue as well as the Syrian crisis and the Iranian nuclear controversy, among others, he said.

John Keating

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 Feb. 4, he explained: “It’s the projects we need to find, and to help.” There is plenty of funding, state and private, he noted, but many companies would still rather borrow at high interest rates than open up their shareholding to outsiders. “Family interests,” he added, remain steadfastly conservative.

Mr. Dufourcq also referred to what he called “self-inflicted auto-French bashing,” that he said reflects a lack of confidence by the French in their ability to succeed like the Germans, particularly in the financial-industrial area.

“I am an entrepreneur, hopeful of changing ideas about investing, ” said the 49 year-old former top executive of France Telecom who founded its highly successful Wanadoo-Orange affiliate before becoming deputy director general and chief financial officer of French multinational Cap-Gemini. He explained that the BPI is getting support from commercial banks in France, as the new bank will not compete with them, but rather share financial risks with partners. It is already being viewed as a model for Italy and Britain, he said.

The BPI is consolidating existing government investment agencies throughout France and will work with them in regions of France where interests, economic and geographical, vary enormously. Funding will come from both the state and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

Axel Krause

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. Montebourg at the Finance Ministry at Bercy, he referred to one of President Obama’s campaign slogans: “Let’s bring jobs back home.” And he noted that France’s Socialist party had been inspired by the U.S. political system to organize primaries ahead of France’s own presidential elections in 2012.

The Socialist firebrand told AAPA members that he believes that multilateral trade deals are “dead” because it’s difficult to conclude meaningful trade agreements inside the World Trade Organization, notably since China obtained membership, and said France prefers bilateral deals that it feels are more protective of its interests.

He explained that his mandate to revive manufacturing industries and create jobs in France will require a “nation-wide cultural mobilization” to stimulate awareness among all French people, whether they be employees, entrepreneurs, engineers or bankers, of the need to get back to work. He referred admiringly to Franklin Roosevelt’s efforts to lead the U.S. out of depression, and said the British economist John Maynard Keynes’ notion of “the end of laissez-faire” in the economic sphere is exactly what the Hollande administration has in mind as it tries to “humanize and moralize” capitalism.

-David Pearson

“Seasoned with wit and charm and rich with food-lover wisdom, it captures what France does best.”—Mort Rosenblum, winner of the James Beard Award and AAPA member.
“An appetizing, evocative, eccentric paean to Gallic gastronomy.” —Colman Andrews, The Wall Street Journal.

A New Year is upon us and it looks set to be about as busy as the one we have just seen out. The French, European and international situations loom as being as news-generating and as demanding as they were in 2012.

This will be a challenge for us all, but it also provides us with opportunities to enhance the activity of the Anglo-American Press Association and allows us to make our mark again on the ever-active media scene here in France.

We achieved a lot in 2012: 16 premier guests and events across a broad spectrum of sectors; a new and improved banking system and the consolidation of our financial reserve for the future; more than 20 new and returning members last year, bringing in both “new blood” but also bringing back experienced, former members. The membership roll now stands at 107, the highest level for several years and we’re lining more new members in early 2013.

Thanks to a dedicated team, the Website (www.aapafrance.org) has been greatly improved and this is vital as it is our showcase to the world. We have also created a Facebook page that will allow for intra-membership contacts and exchanges. This needs to be developed and more interested members need to sign up.

Moreover, our key event of the year, the Annual AAPA Gala, was once again a huge success and many thanks to all who contributed and, indeed, attended. We have a solid commitment from the British Embassy to host our next Gala there next summer.

There is much more to come in 2013. We start the year early with a Jan 8 lunch at the Finance Ministry with topical Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg. This will be followed shortly afterwards with a “field-trip” to Versailles with an exclusive visit and lunch to evaluate the ongoing work there and meet those who matter.

Much more is in the pipeline and the new committee is working hard to provide high-level events that are news-making as well as cultural and convivial and that will appeal to a broad swathe of our membership. A host of personalities and institutions have already been contacted and we are working tirelessly to get firm dates.

To continue the momentum, however, we need your support: Ideas, proposals, suggestions and constructive criticism are all valued and will help us fashion the 2013 programme to cater to all tastes. This was discussed during our lively AGM in December and the discussion should not stop there.

Strength in numbers is also one of our trump cards so I would urge all members to encourage fellow Anglo-American journalists to join.

Lastly, we pride ourselves on our independence and this is one of our major attractions to potential guests. To remain independent, however, we have to self-finance and that means paying our dues. At 95 euros, our dues have not changed for many years and we have waived the initiation fee for new members, keeping in mind the economic situation and the difficulties for the profession.

I would, therefore, call on you, as we resume our active programme, to submit your dues before the deadline of January 31. This will enable us to move forward with our Electronic Booklet in timely fashion and issue our AAPA Membership Cards.

The newly-elected committee is ready to serve and we are aiming for an even more successful year, with the full support of all our members.

Many thanks and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all.

-John Keating

Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of French oil and gas giant Total SA, told us that new discoveries and technological advances have increased the oil industry’s ability to increase production in recent years, so that the global maximum for oil production is now estimated at 98 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, three million more than was thought possible just a few years ago.

At the breakfast event, kindly hosted by Total at La Maison du Danemark, Mr. de Margerie told us that high energy prices are a necessary evil because they allow oil companies to cover the high cost of exploring and producing new resources. He reminded us that the oil industry by definition has a long-term horizon, and that almost all of  Total’s projects that will come on-stream by 2017 have already been launched. The company is stepping up its investments to find and exploit new resources, he said.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Mr. de Margerie talked about the crisis that’s affecting the economies of Europe and the rest of the world, and the austerity policies that have been adopted in France and other countries. While there’s clearly a need to reduce public deficits, he said, governments in France and elsewhere must be careful to avoid killing their economies by shifting new burdens on to the corporate sector that would erode companies’  longer-term competitiveness.

-David Pearson