Thierry Marx and the free cooking schools
Thierry Marx, the chef étoilé with a rags-to-riches story who in 2012 founded a network of free cooking schools -- 10 so far -- to boost the disadvantaged into employment and a sense of purpose, met with AAPA members on November 8. The venue was the eastern Paris headquarters of his Cuisine Mode d'Emploi(s), not far from the bohemian Menilmonant district where Marx grew up. In a free-flowing…
Meeting with Le Monde
The AAPA met on October 20th with the CEO and Director of Le Monde newspaper, Louis Dreyfus and Jérôme Fenoglio, at their new headquarters building in Paris. We had a lively discussion about the state of journalism in the world and how Le Monde went from losing €10 million a year 13 years ago, to becoming a profitable, expanding news outlet - all while keeping its editorial independence. 70% of…
AAPA breakfast meeting with Tony Estanguet, Paris Olympic Committee
The Paris Olympic Committee invited the AAPA to a breakfast meeting with Committee President Tony Estanguet at their headquarters on Thursday, October 12, for a briefing on the state of play less than a year before the 2024 summer Olympics. A slalom canoeist, Estanguet served France’s flagbearer at the Beijing games and is the first French athlete to win three gold medals in three…
Lunch with Air France CEO
The AAPA was invited to lunch and a visit to the flight archives to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Air France at the company’s headquarters at Charles DeGaulle on Sept 29. We were joined at lunch by Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France, the first woman to hold this executive position. As a veteran of Air France dating back to 1996, Rigail had a lot to share with us about the business of flying.…
The War in Ukraine…18 Months On
The former Swiss Intelligence officer turned contrarian author spoke to the AAPA on the eve of the English language translation of his latest book, Ukraine Between War and Peace. "The West is a victim of its own narrative" Baud claims, concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But he never answered our questions about what the West got wrong in that narrative concerning…
AAPA meeting with the Hungarian Ambassador in France, H. E. Georges de Habsburg-Lorraine
The ambassador commented off the record on a number of timely topics, including Hungary’s stance on the war in Ukraine; the Ukrainian refugees in Hungary; Hungary’s strong anti-immigration policies; energy issues; Sweden’s entry into NATO; and Hungary’s relationship to the European Union
Who will rebuild Ukraine?
In a two-hour, on-the-record meeting at Bloomberg on May 26, France's Odile Renaud-Basso, the first female head of the London-based Bank for Reconstruction and Development, provided a detailed inside view of plans for rebuilding war-torn Ukraine once the war ends. While current spending on rebuilding heavily-damaged infrastructure stands at some 3 billion dollars annually, she confirmed that some…
The Paris Opera’s General Director Alexandre Neef talks performances, budgets…and the Chagall ceiling
Paris Opera General Director Alexander Neef has clear ideas about all issues affecting opera, ballet and the arts in general, except for one: artificial intelligence. Like much of the world, he is in “awe and terror” of it, he told 16 members of the AAPA at an on-the-record meeting in Palais Garnier May 4. Neef’s biggest challenge since arriving at the three years ago of the National Opera de…
General Jean-Paul Palomeros: Will Ukraine have the manpower to win the war?
Ukraine may have the will, but it may not have the men — or the munitions — to win the war, France’s former Air Force chief of staff, retired General Jean-Palomeros says. “I’m not sure that the Ukrainians have the human potential in the long term to sustain this war,” Palomeros told AAPA journalists Wednesday (March 14) at a press conference hosted by Bloomberg. It was not a prediction, added…
French health minister François Braun: many health care systems are faltering
French health minister François Braun: many health care systems are faltering Public health care systems are faltering in many parts of the world, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19, Health and Prevention Minister François Braun told the AAPA on February 21. Meeting more than 20 members—some at the ministry and others on Zoom—he said the problems varied from country to country, but…