The 2012 Gala: Raining down good cheer
Rain or shine, the Anglo-American Press Association’s Annual Gala is one of the year’s highlights. This year it was definitely rain. But the inclement weather dampened no…
An Evening with Guy Wyser-Pratte
We were twenty-odd members and guests, and with a "terrorist" in our midst at John Morris' loft on the evening of June 11th. The "terrorist" label for Guy Wyser-Pratte came from a French financial journal that called him an ex-marine qui terrorize nos patrons. Wyser-Pratte, who has been called other names, including corporate raider, in his forty years of shareholder activism, did not…
Meeting with Khadija al-Salami
On May 10, AAPA members were treated to a viewing of Yememi filmmaker Khadija al-Salami's "Amina,'' followed by a thoughtful discussion about the current situation in Yemen and the Middle East. The event was hosted by AAPA President John Keating at his apartment. Ms. al-Salami, who lives in Paris, is considered to be the first female filmmaker & producer in Yemen. Originally…
Lazard Chief Gives AAPA Members His Take On France, Europe
Lazard France CEO Matthieu Pigasse cut a smooth figure as he strode into Lazard’s boardroom for a breakfast meeting with some 20 AAPA members on April 30. His slim, pin striped suit and relaxed, open-shirt look were a surprising contrast to the somber portraits on the walls of the men who have run this venerable advisory and asset management firm for the last century and a half. At…
Longuet Briefs AAPA On Defense Issues
In another first for the AAPA, our members met with Defense Minister Gerard Longuet for breakfast at the ministry on the rue Saint Dominique on April 6. Questions covered a broad range, from the…
Juppé Outlines Foreign Policy Concerns To The AAPA
“It’s been a long time since I’ve stopped believing in such a thing as ‘off’,” quipped French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, before launching into an expansive review of foreign policy issues for 30 AAPA members last…
US Envoy To UNESCO Provides Food For Thought
The US Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, must have heard the journalistic injunction “follow the breakfast” as there was an elegant table laid out for some 15 AAPA members April 3 at the ambassador’s residence in the 16th arrondissement. Not all press breakfasts are so well prepared, as those who have bitten into dry, industrial-quality croissants while scribbling in their notebooks on an…
Getting to Grips with Wikileaks
Anyone who comes up against the courageous, controversial Julian Assange, is "condemned to spend eternity discussing the cosmic meaning of Wikileaks," wrote the New York Times' editor Bill Keller recently, based on his deep involvement in the controversial saga. While our two-hour, convivial meeting with one of Assange's most-loyal supporters, Vaughan Smith, was no eternity, we certainly came…
“Danny The Red” Meets The AAPA
If the 27-nations of the European Union want to re-launch their stagnating economies and EU political integration, it must be a collective effort and not that of one or even several leaders, and it will probably take years, according to Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Speaking to some 20 AAPA members at the Paris headquarters of the European Parliament March 5, the outspoken leftist European deputy…
The Bank of France Opens Its Doors To AAPA
A group of 17 AAPA members had the rare privilege on Feb. 15 to meet with Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer over dinner in the central bank. As an aperitif, we visited the glittering Galerie Dorée.…