LATEST NEWS: SHORT STORY PRIZE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

RECENT SEMINARS:

ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS
Thursday 10 April in the Design Council, London

This timely seminar, chaired by Dr Camilla Toulmin and Christian De Boissieu, provided an opportunity for experts to build on the recent Sarkozy/Brown summit discussions on how the two countries could work together and learn from each others' experience. Ambassador Gourdault Montagne is shown here flanked by Lord Jay and former French minister Corinne Lepage.Participants may not have agreed on the desirability of nuclear energy for the UK but there was agreement on the need to collaborate on bold initiatives such as the reform of international institutions , the review of government procurement policies and the need to review (and perhaps split) current targets for adaptation and mitigation.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Wednesday 23 January in Velizy Villacoublay

This seminar coincided with the publication by the Attali commission in France of 316 proposals to liberalise sheltered sectors of the economy, cut the cost and improve the flexibility of the labour market, and streamline public administration. Participants including David Willetts MP (left) and Gilles Bloch, Directeur général de la Recherche et de l’Innovation,
discussed the extension of innovation to the service sector, particularly to the health services. It was agreed that the contribution of the social sciences and humanities meant that the potential for innovation was not limited to science and technology. The opposition between ‘curious’ and ‘orientated’ research and the evaluation methods were examined, as were questions of patents and intellectual property. Another issue was the question of funding and economic incentives. Should it be a clear choice between public and private or a fusion of the two? The role of Europe surfaced as a key theme, particularly the evolution of its R & D programme. Finally, the relationship between research and business proved to be a subject of sharp exchanges and interesting suggestions. The report will be available shortly.

CREATIVE WAYS FORWARD: CULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Tuesday 20 November in London

Two former Ministers of Culture and James Purnell, current Setretary of State at the DCMS (shown right with the FBC Chair and Director), were the key speakers at this seminar, timed to tie in with the move of Eurostar to St Pancras. Discussions centred around the role of culture in regeneration, how to improve outreach and how to exploit new forms of technology. It was agreed that in this period of dramatic change, culture was inherent to individuals and to their role in society but there was a need to rethink accessibility and review the lack of diversity in those staffing the great institutions. A full report, by Philip Hensher of the Independent, will be published in the New Year.

NEW GENERATIONS; TOMORROW'S SOCIETY
Wednesday 10 October in London

Yves Censi, Nick Clegg MP and Housing Minister Yvette Cooper MP chaired our third meeting for young movers and shakers. There were frank discussions about the problems facing the younger generation over housing, access to higher education, social mobility, employment and pensions. Data presented to the seminar suggested that the new generation in France were in a blighted position in terms of access to education, employment, housing and prospects of upwards social mobility. The broad picture was that if France emphasised differences between age cohorts, social selectivity in the UK deepened differences within them.

A report by David Walker, Editor of Guardian public, will shortly be available. In the meantime for the French perspective on the meeting download an article in le Figaro by Solange Lefebvre.

THE POUND, THE EURO AND THE DOLLAR, 15 March, Paris

The euro and the European Central Bank had unfairly been made a scapegoat for the economic failings of member countries, particularly in the context of the French presidential elections. This was one of the findings of a Franco-British Council seminar held in Paris on 15 March chaired by Christian de Boissieu and the Rt Hon Lord Radice.
The euro had not increased inflation, contrary to the impressions of French consumers who found that frequently purchased small items had been rounded up in price, while failing to notice that infrequently purchased big ticket items had dropped in price. The monetary policy of the ECB could not be blamed for all the economic ills of the euro area, because it produced such different effects in different countries – balance of payments surplus in Germany, and deficit in Spain. European monetary union was vulnerable because member governments had failed to keep their commitments to budgetary and fiscal discipline. The seminar concluded that the UK would not soon join the euro, because its economic performance had been satisfactory outside, and no British Government would want to risk losing a referendum on the issue.