Politics
French presidential elections unprecedented, researcher says
The run-up to France’s 2017 presidential elections is unlike any in the past, with an electorate confused by waning confidence in politicians, worried about security and distressed by chronic unemployment, a respected political researcher told the AAPA on March 28. It’s the first presidential election to be held under a state of emergency, Sciences Po professor Pascal Perrineau told a…
French Elections Could Spring Some Surprises, Pollsters Say
France’s presidential election could spring some surprises even if the lineup for the second round currently seems fairly clear-cut today, a panel of polling experts told the AAPA on April 7. Once they got into the voting booths, many voters confounded polling agencies in recent crucial votes in the U.S. and the U.K. by making choices that they hadn’t previously shared with canvassers, and…
The EU Couldn’t Survive Le Pen Presidency - INSEAD professor
“It would be almost impossible for the EU to survive if Marine Le Pen should win the up-coming French Presidential elections and withdraw France from it,” INSEAD Political Science Professor Douglas Webber told 17 AAPA members on March 21. “Europe can survive without the UK, but not without France. It would be a political earthquake,” he continued, referring to Le Pen’s vow to negotiate new EU…
Marine Le Pen Asserts Controversial Positions on EU, Russia
The AAPA kicked off 2017 with a news-making event on Jan. 6 when nearly 60 members met with one of France's top political personalities - National Front party leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. The timing was ideal, with the French presidential elections just four months away and Ms. Le Pen increasingly tipped to secure a place in the runoff round of voting on May 7. After Brexit…
French Deputy Is Appalled by U.K.’s Brexit Vote
The vote by British citizens in favor of the U.K. leaving the European Union has created a “ludicrous” situation, with the proponents of exiting the 28-nation group not seeming to have prepared a plan of action, the head of the Foreign Affairs Commission of France’s National Assembly told the AAPA. Speaking to over a dozen AAPA members in the commission’s meeting room on June 27, just a few days…
Israeli Envoy Reaffirms Need for Direct Talks With Palestine
Future discussions on breaking the deadlock between Israel and Palestine require a direct dialog without preconditions between the two states, and not a multilateral approach as favored by Palestinian leaders, Israeli Ambassador Aliza Bin-Noun told us on June 21. Speaking to 15 AAPA members over breakfast at the Israeli embassy, Ms. Bin-Noun reasserted Israel’s hostility to French-led attempts…
Hollande’s Diplomatic Advisor Meets the AAPA
A group of AAPA journalists were given a rare opportunity last October 6 to meet with Jacques Audibert, France’s top diplomatic advisor to President Francois Hollande. In the impressive setting of the Hotel Marigny, where heads of state are usually housed and entertained on official visits, Audibert discussed key foreign policy issues in a 90-minute “off-the-record” exchange, touching…
France to Push Through Health Service Reforms
France’s national health service may be one of the best in the world, but it urgently needs reform to make it more efficient and less costly, Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs, Health and Women's Rights, told a breakfast meeting with 25 AAPA members on June 16. Speaking in her ministry’s dining room with a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower, Ms. Touraine spent nearly 90…
Helping in Trouble Spots Carries Risks, Fabius Says
France is eager to help out in the world’s trouble spots, but there’s also a risk that a big Western power coming to the aid of the citizens of a foreign country can actually aggravate a situation, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told more than 30 AAPA members on April 16. Meeting “on-the-record” for over an hour with us in the ornate salons of the Quai d’Orsay, Mr. Fabius said:…
France Confirms Crackdown Policies on Terror Networks, Radicalisation
France is preparing tough, judicial measures to deal with terrorists, dangerous “jihadists” and those who justify “Jihad,” French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told two dozen AAPA members over breakfast on January 27. Speaking three weeks after the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, Mme Taubira told us that the government won’t compromise in its efforts to clamp down on people who…