JACK LANG INVITES THE AAPA INTO THE ARAB WORLD
Former Culture Minister and recently-appointed President of the Arab World Institute (IMA), Jack Lang hosted some 30 members of the AAPA at the IMA on Dec. 17 for an interesting and stimulating visit that included a 90-minute question-and-answer session with Lang, himself. The enthusiastic AAPA group was firstly treated to some historical explanations on the make-up and evolution of…
French Minister Deplores Lack of Transparency in US-EU Trade Talks
During our third meeting with a minister from Bercy this year, Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq gave the AAPA an exclusive insight into the government's foreign trade policy, while answering some tough questions on France's positions in the ongoing U.S.-Europe trade talks. Hosting a lunch for 18 AAPA members on Nov. 15 on the top floor of the Finance Ministry, Mme. Bricq said the U.S.…
Expanding AAPA Revamps Its Management Team For 2014
In one of the most stimulating, constructive and convivial AGM evenings in years, AAPA members unanimously re-elected John Keating to a record third term as president, as well as a slate of officers and a new committee for the coming year. We met Dec. 11, once again enjoying the hospitality of member John Morris in his cozy and spacious apartment in the Marais. In his presentation prior to the…
Move to Digital Prompts IHT Name Change to INYT
Three weeks before the scheduled death of the International Herald Tribune and its resurrection as the International New York Times, Richard Stevenson, the paper's last editor, received some 20 members of the Anglo-American Press Association to explain the decision to rebrand the 126-year-old Paris-based institution. The meeting, which took place at the IHT offices in La Defense, was also…
Sun Shines on the AAPA Summer Gala
After a cold, soaking spring, the sun finally came out just in time for the Anglo-American Press Association's annual gala on June 4. People called it the best day of the year (so far), and it certainly was a great evening for the AAPA. The gala venue alternates between the official residences of the AAPA’s two honorary co-presidents, the American and the British Ambassadors. This year the host…
French PM Hosts AAPA for a Second Time
Prime Minister Jean-Mark Ayrault once again took time from his busy schedule to talk to AAPA members on May 23 over lunch at the Hôtel Matignon. As with the previous session on April 11, Mr. Ayrault requested that his remarks be off-record. The conversation covered a wide area, including the French and German political scenes and the controversial "marriage pour tous" legislation, and…
AAPA Gets a Peek Behind the Curtain at Mediapart
Some 30 AAPA members were given a fascinating insight into the philosophy behind the French on-line investigative newspaper Mediapart, in a lively two-hour discussion with Mediapart's founder Edwy Plenel on May 15. During the meeting, which took place in Mediapart's editorial offices in the 12th arrondissement, Mr. Plenel outlined what had motivated him to create the fast-growing publication…
A Critique of France's Elitist Culture
AAPA member Peter Gumbel's latest book France’s Got Talent is a stinging critique of the pervasive French culture of elitism, and its unfortunate consequences. 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,…
P.M. Ayrault Discusses Strategy, Challenges with the AAPA
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…
A Day Off at Versailles
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…