Freelancer seminar: avoiding payment delays
To help free-lance members develop a strategy for heading off such problems and for confronting them when they arise, the AAPA held a zoom conference on 22 March on recovering payments. Leading the discussion were Hans de Keijzer, Group Head of Organisation & Change – Policy Management at Euler Hermes Group, and Caroline Harrap, a co-founder of the Society of Freelance Journalists,…
US Congressmen discuss Ukraine and US-France relations
More than a dozen AAPA members got to sit down with the two leaders of a US Congressional delegation to France on April 19th at the US ambassador’s residence. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), who is on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Representative David Cicilline (D-RI-01), who is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told us their eight-member delegation had a busy two days in…
Russian Sanctions: Economic Weapons
The unprecedented barrage of coordinated economic sanctions on Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine is already having an impact on Russian quality of life and could ultimately undermine President Vladimir Putin politically, according to Sciences Po economics professor Sergei Guriev. He spoke to the AAPA via Zoom on March 24, 2022. A former financial "insider" in Moscow, Guriev was…
Who is cancelling whom? French sociologist, Michel Wieviorka, discusses the Woke craze in France.
WOKE: a nebulous catchall word that refers to cancel culture, "Islamo-leftism", intersectionality, anti-colonialism, etc. A concept supposedly imported from American universities that, according to some of France's highest authorities, is contaminating France, maybe quicker than the Covid virus. Hardly a day goes by that it is not referred to in French media, especially as we approach French…
Presidential candidate Michel Barnier meets with AAPA
The Anglo-American press club met with former minister, EU Brexit negotiator and presidential candidate Michel Barnier on December 8. Fresh from the campaign trail, Barnier spoke of his enthusiasm for nominee Pécresse, and her ability to win the race. He says he hopes to be a part of her campaign and government. We also discussed the fallout from Brexit, Franco-British relations and France’s…
France plans new Terrorism Museum
Coinciding with the opening of the trial for the horrifying November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the AAPA was invited on 9 September 2021 to meet the man behind France’s upcoming museum on terrorism, expected to open in the Paris area in 2027. Historian Henry Rousso previously helped create the Caen Memorial Museum on the WWII Normandy landings, and the Shoah/Holocaust Memorial in Paris.…
France's 'Monsieur Patrimoine' Stéphane Bern talks to the AAPA
Stéphane Bern, the ardent defender of France's cultural heritage, treated the AAPA to an hour of his insights into the post-pandemic state of play, progress on resurrecting Notre Dame Cathedral, the Christo stunt at the Arc de Triomphe, and more. The ebullient journalist and author is a household name in France thanks to his hugely popular television shows, and is a darling of crowned heads and…
Macron's road to reelection runs through Africa
How will Africa play out in a French presidential election year? On 21 June 2021, the AAPA was pleased to welcome Pascal Airault, staff writer and columnist for L'Opinion and co-author with Antoine Glaser of Le Piège Africain de Macron: Du Continent à l'Hexagone. The same Emmanuel Macron, drawn in by his nation’s role as a former colonial power in places like Chad and Mali, wants to display that…
Sneak Preview of the Stunning Pinault Collection in the Bourse du Commerce
The AAPA visited the new Pinault Collection on May 18 (4 days before the official opening), thanks to the organizational skills of Elaine Cobbe (with Shellie Karabell shepherding on-site). Both the…
French historian Benjamin Stora discusses French-Algerian reconciliation
AAPA members met with French historian Benjamin Stora, author of a recent and controversial report commissioned by President Macron on French-Algerian relations. Prof. Stora is an expert on the topic from the colonial period until today, and is especially known for his work covering the years of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). With about 25 members attending the zoom conference on…