Date: 16 May 2013

The FBC Annual Defence Conference  has become a firm fixture in the Bilateral Defence Calendar. This sustained project  is now in its third year and, building on the signing of the Lancaster House Treaties,  permits us to seize the opportunity of a renewed rapprochement between Britain and France in security and defence. The March conference will bring together key policy makers,

Date: 14 December 2012

 The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Rt. Hon. Vince Cable MP opened this seminar with a thought provoking speech on the state of the UK economy and how Britain compares to France.  Chief Executive of EDF Energy, Vincent de Rivaz followed

Date: 12 June 2012

This seminar, chaired by Renaud Girard and David French, brought together key parliamentarians, academics, and  journalists to review the current crisis. These included Myriam Francois-Cerrah and former Minister Catherine Colonna shown here .A discussion took place on the social and economic roots of the Arab Spring, including the collusion

Date: 21 March 2012

The 2012 Second Annual Defence Conference was hosted by Sir Peter Ricketts at his Residence in Paris on Wednesday 21 March 2012.   It was a unique occasion to gather high profile policy makers and military officers, CEOs from industry as well as main think tankers and     journalists.Following a keynote speech by Peter Luff, Minister for Defence Equipment,

Date: 23 November 2011

The FBC, with the support of the Franco British Lawyers Society, held this seminar in London.  The event brought together representatives from the French and British justice systems, governments, academia and the voluntary sector in order to examine the strengths and shortcomings of the youth justice systems in England, Wales, Scotland and France.  What emerged were astute observations

Date: 28 September 2011

The FBC held a small meeting chaired by Sir Stephen Wall on the subject of referendums at the House of Lords. The seminar looked at the lessons learnt from the May referendum and whether it has had an impact on French perceptions of the UK as an EU

Date: 26 September 2011

 Conference entitled ‘Forgetful Allies: Truth, Myth and Memory in the two World Wars and After’ This two-day conference was held at Cambridge on 26-27 September, with the financial support of the Cambridge History Faculty, the French Embassy

Date: 29 June 2011

The tenth Franco-British Council Biennial Lecture was held in the magnificent Locarno Suite of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Rt. Hon William Hague MP, First Secretary of State and Secretary of Sate for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave a warm and enthusiastic speech on the

Date: 31 March 2011

The Franco-British Council held the first FBC Annual Defence Conference at the French Ambassador's Residence in London.The November 2010 bilateral summit has set a road map for a significant step-change in defence relations and co-operation between the two countries, but concrete progress in the many different areas of work is inevitably going to take time and require

Date: 02 February 2011

The FBC, supported by the International Institute for Environment and Development,  brought together leading politicians, economists and philosophers from France and Great Britain, to discuss the French and British governments' initiatives to measure well-being, at a lively and engaging event at Somerset House on February 2nd 2011. David Willets MP, British Minister for Universities

Date: 17 November 2010

Instigated by Number Ten, this informal meeting chaired by Professor Paul Dolan, brought together a small group of policy advisors, academics and ad men to discuss where France and the UK could learn from each other in the area of influencing citizen's behaviour using the concepts behind ‘nudge theory'*. The concepts have big implications for how countries tackle challenges in the context

Date: 06 October 2010

Organised with RUSI and kindly hosted by HE Sir Peter Westmacott, the British Ambassador in Paris at his residence, this seminar was co-chaired by Rt Hon Baroness Taylor, former UK minister for defence equipment, Senator Xavier Pintat, rapporteur of the defence committee in the French senate  and Dr Jonathan Eyal, director of International Security Studies at RUSI.Speakers included Gisela

Date: 01 October 2010

Kindly hosted by the French Ambassador in London, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, at the Ambassador's Residence, this seminar was co-chaired by renown author and China expert Jonathan Fenby and Jean-Claude Poimboeuf, Minister-Counsellor for the French Embassy in the United Kingdom. Download the executive summary of this seminar

Date: 18 June 2010

On 18 June Prime Minister Cameron and President Sarkozy met in London to commemorate General de Gaulle's historic wartime broadcast on the BBC. This was the first time a French head of state had come to London to commemorate the historic broadcast which prompted the birth of the French Resistance. It was a memorable occasion offering such spectacles as a British soldier in a bearskin

Date: 18 June 2010

Franco-British friendship is riding highFor the first time a French Head of State came to London to commemorate Général de Gaulle's appeal on the 18th June 1940. The commemorative ceremony held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea provided an opportunity for France and Britain to confirm a close relationship which is also in the process of revival.David

Date: 14 June 2010

On 18 June 1940, as the French government prepared to sign an armistice with the Nazi invaders, General Charles de Gaulle broadcast on the BBC to France. He called for a continuation of the war against Germany and made an appeal to all French officers and soldiers, military engineers and armament workers, to rally under his command in London. He ended his broadcast with words that have gone down

Date: 06 May 2010

 In a new report, the Franco British Council appeals to the new UK government to listen to the views of young people from diverse backgrounds. The report entitled DIVERSITY 2.0 hails a new phase in attitudes to identity. Following a day of frank discussion at Somerset House attended by future leaders, Ministers, community leaders and experts from both sides of the

Date: 09 March 2010

Following the FBC breakfast seminar organised last October, 60 delegates from France and the UK gathered to discuss what might be done in a practical way in the defence bilateral relationship.With a particular focus on understanding the interaction between Strategy, Military, Procurement

Date: 20 January 2010

 On the anniversary of Obama's inauguration delegates from France and the UK have met to get to work on some of the big issues facing our societies: How can we create opportunities in employment for ethnic minority youth? How can we open up access to higher education and training? And who are our role models? 

Date: 13 November 2009

Paris - British Embassy - 35 Rue de Faubourg St Honoré This seminar, chaired by Quentin Peel of the Financial Times and Henri Pigeat, Président du Centre de Formation des Journalistes, ancien Président de l'Agence France Presse (left), looked at the impact  the internet is having on traditional media as it