December 2011

Dear Friends

Despite recent upheavals Foreign Secretary William Hague, shown here at our Biennial Lecture in June, has pointed out that this year the foreign policies of Britain and France have been more closely aligned than in any year since the Second World War. That said we do recognize that the FBC's role in forming bonds of trust and understanding is highly relevant at a time when the Eurozone is testing the bilateral relationship severely.

Budget cuts have affected us all but the French Section of the FBC has been particularly hard hit over the last two years. We are therefore delighted to announce that the Quai D’Orsay has now confirmed funding for the Conseil franco britannique with administration being undertaken by the Institut français des relations internationales. This will involve some structural change to our joint operations but the programme of events will continue unabated and we look forward once again to working fully with our French Section. Christian de Boissieu is confirmed as the new President, Catherine Colonna as Vice President, Jean Yves Audouin, Secretary-General and Gérard Roubichou as Treasurer.We are delighted that Jean Guéguinou, former President will continue to be associated with our work in his new role as Honorary President.

On the British side I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Vice Chair Dominic Grieve most warmly for his support to our activities in general and in particular in the initiation and chairing of the seminar on Youth Justice.

I am also keen to thank and pay tribute to a number of members who have reached the end of their term. See below for a summary of their contributions. The following people are being invited to join as members from 2012: Air Commodore Stuart Atha, Michael Clarke, Director of the Scottish National Gallery, Christopher Deacon, former special adviser to Eurotunnel, Maurice Fraser, European Institute, LSE, Nabila Ramdani, journalist, Matthew Ryecroft, EU Director, FCO, Ian Taylor, former Minister for Science and Technology and Michael Shackleton, Head of the European Parliament Information Office in the UK.

Finally I want to wish you all a happy Christmas and every good wish for 2012.

Joyce Quin, Chair

Message from  HE Bernard Emié, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom 

2011 has been a fruitful year for Franco-British cooperation.  The political impetus given by Prime Minister Cameron and President Sarkozy has been translated into unprecedented progress.

In the defence field, the bilateral treaties of Lancaster House paved the way for practical initiatives on the operational and procurement levels and on armaments programmes.  French and British civilian and military leaders now work together instinctively.  They know one another and appreciate each other’s strengths.  At a time when the population of Benghazi was under threat of death, the United Kingdom and France were able, in a matter of a few days, to galvanize the international community and act in unison to help the Libyan people free themselves from their oppressors.  It was a credit to the UK and France.  Libya helped heal the wound of Suez.

In promoting an energy mix in which civil nuclear energy plays its full role, the UK and France are also leaders in Europe.  Our cooperation is growing stronger, and the UK has this year confirmed her decision to modernize her fleet of power stations.  Together, we are making an effort to promote respect for the highest safety standards.

In many other fields, the foundations for even closer cooperation have been laid.  The preparations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games stand out among the most symbolic areas.  As a neighbour and friend, France will provide her support to ensure these events are a success.

2011 has also been a fruitful year for the Franco-British Council.  The Council is asserting itself as one of the key forums for closer relations between our two countries’ civil societies.  It makes an important contribution to an essential cause:  the convergence of ideas and the emergence of a Franco-British community of thought.  The seminars it has held have attracted a great deal of attention.  In this respect, I am delighted that the Foreign Secretary honoured one of these events with his presence.  It was also confirmed in 2011 that the Franco-British Council’s French section is being revitalized.  The conditions now exist for the Council – which is to celebrate its 40^th anniversary in 2012 – to be given a new boost. more...

photo credit: Alexander McIntyre

Recent Seminars

Youth Justice and Family Breakdown, 23^rdNovember

Chaired by the Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve MP (seen here with Pierre Joxe, former French Interior Minister) the FBC, with the support of the Franco British Lawyers Society, held this seminar at Berrymans Lace Mawer. It brought together representatives from the French and British justice systems, governments, academia and the voluntary sector to examine the strengths and shortcomings of the youth justice systems in England, Wales Scotland and France.  What emerged were astute observations on dealing with the causes of youth crime, the way youth justice is administered in each country, and how the justice systems can improve.  The discussion particularly focused on key themes such as political will, preventative versus punitive justice, relationships between institutions, working practices of agencies and the role of communities, families and the voluntary sector.  more...

 The full report by Francesca Colloca will be available soon.

Referendums in France and the UK , 28th September

Chaired by Sir Stephen Wall (seen here with Joyce Quin) this small gathering of eminent academics, politicians and commentators took place in the House of Lords. One of the conclusions was that Referendums are now a permanent part of the landscape as much in the UK as in France, but as a tool for eliciting public views only in certain circumstances and under specified conditions.

It was also noted that there is mixed evidence from France and the UK about whether or not politics has become more plebiscitarian, more reliant on ‘black or white’ decisions or affirmations of view. However, despite the rhetoric around individual choice elsewhere, politics and representative institutions remain resilient, albeit threatened by apathy and disaffection, especially among young people. more…

You can download the full report by David Walker here 

Future Seminars 

2^nd FBC Annual Defence Conference, British Embassy Paris

The FBC will hold its second annual conference on Franco-British cooperation in Defence on Wednesday 21 March 2012. It will be hosted by Sir Peter Ricketts who will be taking over from Sir Peter Westmacott as Ambassador and will provide a unique opportunity to look at what has been achieved over the first year of bilateral rapprochement. Industry will remain a key focus as well as military training. We will also examine the political will together with the new parliamentary dimension which should indicate the level of determination to implement the 2011 Lancaster House treaties.

Libya will be a major area of observation as well, and the question of what lessons can be learned from this joint military intervention led by France and Britain. Other topics will include EU-NATO relationships in the near future, cyber security, terrorism and the potential threat of Iran. It is hoped that the conference will be influential in laying down a joint approach to these issues.  

To read our interview with Secretary General Ghanim Bin Shaheen Al-Ghanim, the latest in our series of The FBC in Conversation with - Qatar visit our defence website here.

Women on the Board: Are Quotas a Red Herring?

On 13^th January 2011 the French Parliament gave final approval to a law forcing large companies to reserve at least 40 percent of their boardroom positions for women within six years. A year after the passing of this legislation the FBC will bring together experts in this field in a series of workshops. Examples of questions to be addressed are:  What are the principle reasons for the poor female representation in boardrooms? Are quotas the best approach to reach greater gender equality? Does the presence of a quota harm the reputation of women in the workplace?

Other Events

Over one hundred and fifty French and British students packed into the House of Lords Robing Room on the 8^th December for an evening on the theme of the role of parliaments in working with governments on legislation relating to Higher Education. The event was organized by Franco British Connections with support from the French Embassy. Speakers included Lord Giddens and HE Bernard Emié (shown here). Joyce Quin was also part of the panel chaired by Dr Anne Corbett, former FBC Vice-Chair, who responded to lively questions from the floor on the merits of both Higher Education systems and whether,  in the new global competitive environment, they were able to promote social mobility. The inbalance between French students in the UK (14,000) and British students in France (3,000) was highlighted and the Ambassador spoke of work he was doing with the British Minister for Education to review policies which inhibited language learning in the UK. Examples were given by the students of joint programmes which were at risk of being cut following the increase in tuition fees and a constructive discussion took place on how best to influence politicians in both countries. For more information on future activities do visit the fb-connections website here

PASSAGE TO PARIS PRIMARY SCHOOLS PRIZE

This year we are taking a sabbatical from our annual Short Story contest. Instead we will be running a one-off competition for primary schools that are in close proximity to the St. Pancras International Eurostar terminal. The idea for the competition came from War Horse author Michael Morpurgo who noted during this year’s short story jury meeting that it is often the younger children whose imaginations are most fertile. Eurostar have kindly agreed to sponsor the prize which is a day in Paris for a whole class of Year Five children. Further details will be available soon on the website.

Members News

Next year sees the 40^th Anniversary of the creation of the FBC. Various plans are under discussion but we are also keen to hear your ideas for the best way to celebrate. Please send your thoughts in to the FBC office by the 18^th January when we will hold a working group lunch to discuss options.

Roisin Donachie has been appointed European Affairs Manager to Kingfisher. She is the first person to hold this title at the home improvement retail giant which operates about 875 stores in 8 countries in Europe and Asia.

John Rogister  was invited to attend an international conference organised by the Conseil regional of Rhone-Alpes, the Assemblée des Pays de Savoie, and the University of Chambery to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Union of Savoy with France and to speak on"L'echo litteraire, politique, et psychologique de la question des nationalités en  Grande-Bretagne dans les cas italien et savoyard" . In February, as Membre correspondant, he addressed the Académie des sciences morales et politiques at a public session on "Coutume et constitution en democratiie" and answered questions from Jacques de Larosiere and eight other colleagues. He has continued to lecture to Alliance Francaise circles throughout the UK.  By a decree of 12 October 2011 the President of the French Republic elevated John to the dignity of Grand Officer in the Ordre National du Merite.

Belinda Thomson was recently elevated to Honorary Professor in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. Her husband Professor Richard Thomson has been asked to give the Douglas Johnson Memorial Lecture on January 18th in the Chancellor's Hall Senate House, Malet Street London WC1. He will speak at 6.00pm on the subject: 'New Wine in Old Bottles: adapting and abusing traditional styles in French visual culture, 1880-1910'."  Enrol

Sadly several members have reached the end of their tenure at the FBC and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their active contribution to the organisation.  

BOBBY BARNES (right) enabled us to invite Thierry Henry to present the School Sports Exchange Prize, has also provided major input to our Diversity seminars and has constantly suggested bilateral themes and delegates for a variety of seminars.

BELINDA THOMSON  has always taken the trouble to travel from Edinburgh  for FBC meetings in which she has always been a valuable presence. She provided significant input to our ‘Creative Ways Forward’ seminar and enabled us to invite people to a private viewing of last year’s Gauguin exhibition which she enlivened with her own illuminating commentary.

PAUL GOODWIN (right) liaised with the Tate to allow us to use some superb artwork for the Diversity seminar at Somerset House and partnered the FBC in the showing of   La Haine at the Tate Modern.

IAN MCCAFFERTY has been a very active member assisting in the preparation of meetings on the Financial Crisis and participating in the seminar on Research and Innovation.

ANDY KNAPP contributed many ideas such as Agriculture and Defence which were then picked up and developed. His most recent proposal on Arab Spring looks likely to go ahead in 2012 with the French Embassy.

DAVID GOODHART provided invaluable support for our Short Story Prize through Prospect Magazine which was a co-sponsor of the competition and published the winning stories on their website. David also contributed to a number of seminars on the ‘Financial Crisis’ and the ‘Future of Europe’.

IAN RANKIN joined us at the Public Policy Reform seminar in Edinburgh and was an active member of the Short Story Prize Jury.

Members meetings

Please note the next AGM will be held in the afternoon on the 16^th May  Room 110 (The Archbishop’s Room) 1 Millbank, London SW1P3JU. Members will be sent details in advance. 

Other news

It is with sadness and deep gratitude that the FBC says farewell to Jean-Claude Poimboeuf, Minister Counsellor at the French Embassy who is returning to Paris to take up a post as Director of Human Resources. Over his years in London he has ensured close coordination between the Embassy and the FBC and almost singlehandedly pulled together the French delegation for the seminar on French and British Perspectives on the Emergence of China which he also co-chaired. We will miss his quiet and affable professionalism and wish him all the best in his new role. We look forward to keeping in touch.

LEGACIES 
In these difficult economic times, the Franco-British Council is constantly looking for additional sources of income. Friends of the FBC who want to contribute to our efforts in strengthening and deepening the Franco-British relationship can leave us a legacy gift in their wills.