Paris!

To start the Paris section of the trip, here is the general city information from our GMF briefing materials:

Paris, France

Hotel:

Hotel Jardins de l’Odéon
7, rue Casimir Delavigne
75007 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 53 10 28 50/46 34 23 90 (contact: Sylvia Harrault)
Fax: +33 (0)1 43 25 28 12
Métro stop : Odéon

GMF Staff: François Lafond, Director, Paris Office
Edouard de Tinguy, Program Associate
GMFUS Paris Office
30 rue Galilée
75116 Paris

Taxis G7 (in English): 01 41 27 66 99

Please bring your agenda, metro and city maps at all time

We put down metro stops for your individual appointments and homestays (don't really stay but have dinner with a host family) but we recommend to use cabs.
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Dress : business at all time


About France

In brief… The political foundations of contemporary France go back to the 1789 revolution. France was a founder member of the EU and has been in the vanguard of European integration. The French economy, alongside the UK, is the second-largest in Western Europe and is around three-quarters of the size of the German economy.
Full name: French Republic
Population: 64.4 million (Including overseas territories, 2008)
Capital: Paris
Area: 551,670 sq. km. (220,668 sq. mi.)
Major language: French
Major religion: Christianity
Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents
Main exports: automobiles and automobile spare parts, aircraft, pharmaceuticals, electronic components, wine, electric components
Per capita GDP at PPP (2006 est.):US $31,800.
Internet domain: .fr
International dialing code: +33

Political structure…The constitution of the Fifth Republic came into force in early 1959. The president (currently Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy) is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term. Parliament comprises two chambers: the Senate (the upper chamber), members of which are elected by an electoral college and serve for nine years (with one-third retiring every three years); and the more important National Assembly (the lower chamber), to which deputies are elected by universal suffrage and which serves for a five-year term (although it may be dissolved by the president). The current government is a centre-right administration.

Policy issues…Medium-term challenges are to reduce the budget deficit and to make further inroads into the rate of unemployment, which remains high even by EU standards. This will require wide-ranging reforms to the country’s tax and benefits system, to public administration and to the legal framework for the labour market, to which social resistance will be high.

On Sunday 29 May 2005, the French voted against the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (54 % of the French voted “no” at the referendum)

In 2007, the French presidential election was the ninth such election of the Fifth French Republic. Nicolas Sarkozy, from the ruling, conservative UMP, won a decisive victory in the second round of the presidential election (May 2007). He gained 53% of the vote, finishing six points ahead of his Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal. The former Interior Minister has promised pro-market reforms that are in the process: to tackle sluggish economic growth and high unemployment, to cut taxes and rein in powerful trades unions. During his first year and a half in office, Sarkozy eliminated income taxes on overtime hours, lengthened the contribution period for retirees to receive full pensions, and established a "minimum service" requirement on strike days, among other reforms. He also completed a major revision of the French constitution, which made the president more accountable to Parliament and strengthened the power of the legislature. French and EU analysts stress that longer-term reform measures must focus on reducing the future burden of ballooning public pension and health care budgets, as well as reducing labor-related taxes.

Economy… With a GDP of $2.5 trillion, France is the sixth-largest economy. It has substantial agricultural resources, a large industrial base, and a highly skilled work force. A dynamic services sector accounts for an increasingly large share of economic activity and is responsible for nearly all job creation in recent years. Real GDP increased 2.1% in 2007. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) projections, 2008 GDP growth will hit 1.8%.

Government economic policy aims to promote investment and domestic growth in a stable fiscal and monetary environment. Creating jobs and reducing the high unemployment rate has been a top priority. The unemployment rate in metropolitan France slipped to 7.5% in the first quarter of 2008 from 8.1% in the second quarter of 2007 when the government took office. France joined 10 other European Union countries in adopting the euro as its currency in January 1999. Since then, monetary policy has been set by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. On January 1, 2002, France, along with the other countries of the euro zone, dropped its national currency in favor of euro bills and coins. Despite significant reform and privatization over the past 15 years, the government continues to control a large share of economic activity: Government spending, at 52.4% of GDP in 2007, is among the highest in the G-7. The government continues to own shares in corporations in a range of sectors, including banking, energy production and distribution, automobiles, transportation, and telecommunications.

In 2008, in a move to advance France's competitiveness, the National Assembly passed four bills introduced by the French government to modernize the economy and improve the labor market. In October 2007, under President Nicolas Sarkozy's impetus, overtime work beyond the 35-hour work week was exempted from income taxes and payroll taxes, a move to encourage work and to increase work time. Membership in France's labor unions accounts for approximately 5% of the private sector work force and is concentrated in the manufacturing, transportation, and heavy industry sectors. Most unions are affiliated with one of the competing national federations, the largest and most powerful of which are the communist-dominated General Labor Confederation (CGT), the Workers' Force (FO), and the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT).

France has been very successful in developing dynamic telecommunications, aerospace, and weapons sectors. With virtually no domestic oil production, France has relied heavily on the development of nuclear power, which now accounts for about 80% of the country's electricity production.

Foreign relations…France plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the WTO, la Francophonie, and other multilateral institutions. Among NATO members, France is second only to the United States in terms of troops deployed abroad. The French took over the rotating EU presidency for July-December 2008, with a focus on immigration, energy, the environment, and European defense during their term. However, the 2008 French Presidency was complicated by the June 2008 Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, which meant to serve as an institutional solution to the functioning of an enlarged EU at 27 members. The other EU member states are continuing to ratify the Lisbon Treaty while searching for an acceptable solution for Ireland.

Foreign trade… France is the second-largest trading nation in Western Europe (after Germany). France ran a record-setting $90 billion deficit for the 12 months ending in May 2008. Total trade in goods for 2007 amounted to $1.162 trillion, over 45% of GDP, 63% of which was with EU-26 countries. In 2007, U.S.-France trade in goods and services totaled $99 billion. U.S. industrial chemicals, aircraft and engines, electronic components, telecommunications, computer software, computers and peripherals, analytical and scientific instrumentation, medical instruments and supplies, broadcasting equipment, and programming and franchising are particularly attractive to French importers. Total French trade of goods and services was $1.421 trillion in 2007.
Principal French exports to the United States are aircraft and engines, beverages, electrical equipment, chemicals, cosmetics, and luxury products. France is the eighth-largest trading partner of the United States.

US-French relations… Relations between the United States and France are active and cordial. Mutual visits by high-level officials are conducted frequently. Bilateral contact at the cabinet level has traditionally been active. France and the United States share common values and have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues. Differences are discussed frankly and have not generally been allowed to impair the pattern of close cooperation that characterizes relations between the two countries.

France is one of NATO's top three troop contributors. The French support NATO modernization efforts and are leading contributors to the NATO Response Force (NRF). France is keen to build European defense capabilities, including through the development of EU battle-group sized force packages and joint European military production initiatives. Defense Minister Morin supports development of a European defense that must complement, not compete with, NATO, which remains at the core of transatlantic security. French resistance, however, to efforts to reinforce NATO's reach beyond the North Atlantic region remain a source of contention.

France is a close partner with the U.S. in the war on terror. It cooperates with the U.S. to monitor and disrupt terrorist groups and has processed numerous U.S. requests for information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. French security and intelligence services have rounded up hundreds of extremists in the past year. The French judiciary has upheld the pre-trial detainment of the four French former Guantanamo detainees. France is a strong partner in multiple non-proliferation fora and is a key participant in the Proliferation Security Initiative. Through the "EU3" (France, the U.K., and Germany), France is working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

France opposed the use of force in Iraq in March 2003 and did not join the U.S.-led coalition that liberated the country from the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. Despite differences over Iraq, the U.S. and France continue to cooperate closely on many issues, most notably the global war on terrorism, efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and on regional problems, including in Africa, Lebanon, and Kosovo. On Iraq, the French agreed to generous debt relief for Iraq in Paris Club negotiations and have accepted the establishment of a NATO training mission there.

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France seeks robust U.S. engagement in the peace process. France is working to contain the Hamas-led challenge to the Palestinian Authority. President Sarkozy, like his predecessor, President Chirac, is committed to keeping France in supportive relations with Israel.

The U.S. and France have worked closely to support a sovereign and independent Lebanon, free of Syrian domination. The U.S. and France co-sponsored in September 2004 UNSCR 1559, which called for full withdrawal of Syrian forces, a free and fair electoral process, and disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. In the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, the U.S. and France reiterated calls for a full, immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and security services from Lebanon. France also co-sponsored UNSCR 1701 and was one of the leading countries in Europe working to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 by committing 2,000 troops to UNIFIL-plus. Strong French backing led to adoption of UNSCR 1757 establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute the perpetrators of the Hariri assassination and other killings of critics of Syria's interference in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Kouchner is working hard to help competing Lebanese political factions agree to a framework for governing the country in accordance with the country's constitution and free from external interference. France also participates in the U.S. Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative.

Trade and investment between the U.S. and France are strong. On average over $1 billion in commercial transactions take place between France the U.S. every day. In 2006 U.S. exports to France totaled over 24.2 billion euros and U.S. imports from France were valued at 37.1 billion euros. France is the eighth partner for total trade of goods (imports plus exports) and the tenth-ranked supplier worldwide to the U.S. and its 10th largest customer. The U.S. is France's third-ranked supplier and its fifth largest customer. There are approximately 2,300 French subsidiaries in the U.S., providing more than 481,100 jobs and generating an estimated $178 billion turnover. U.S. companies in France employ about 603,400 French citizens. The U.S. is the top destination for French investments worldwide.

Excerpts are taken from the U.S State Government and The Economist
Paris (city, France), city in north central France, the capital and largest city of the country (2 millions, but 11 millions with the metropolitan area). It is located in France’s Île-de-France region, on the Seine River, 370 km (230 mi) upstream from the river’s outlet on the English Channel.
Paris is world-famous for its beauty and charm, and for its long history as a center of learning and knowledge. Parisians call their city the 'City of Light.' People from around the world flock to the city to view its impressive array of monuments and museums, savor its cuisine, and relax in its sidewalk cafes and nightclubs. Paris is the political, cultural, and economic center of France as well as one of the most vibrant metropolises in the world. About 15 percent of France’s inhabitants live in the Paris metropolitan area. Paris is named after the Parisii, a Celtic people who settled on the city’s central island—the Île de la Cité—in the 3rd century bc. The city has since spread north and south of the Seine. The city lies in a depression. The highest elevation is 129 m (423 ft) at the summit of Montmartre in northern Paris.

Paris enjoys a temperate climate. Average daily temperatures are 20°C (68°F) in summer and 5°C (41°F) in winter. The city receives about 650 mm (26 in) of precipitation annually, spread evenly over the course of the year. Air pollution is high, caused predominantly by automobile traffic and aggravated by the city’s geographic position in a depression
(Encarta)

I took this picture of me looking out my window.

Monday, October 6, 2008 - Our first real day on the EU!

First off, for those of you who have been waiting, "I'm sorry!" We have lots of meetings and lots of travel. I will try to update you as best I can.

Second, I would like to thank my new friends for uploading some photos since my camera and my computer refuse to communicate with each other.

Today was a hectic and interesting day as our first "real" day of meetings and business in Europe. Christina met all of us in the lobby at 9 am (All but Gary who was already off with Corina getting his new passport!)

We headed out to ARD - German Public Radio and Television Studios where we had the opportunity to met with Irmtraud (Irmy) Richardson who has been a broadcast journalist for over 30 years with the ARD.

ARD is the German version of NPR/PBS combined into a single studio in the Brussels correspond ant office. The goal of meeting with the media was for us to gain an understanding of the major issues of the day, how they are covered in Brussels and how that coverage varies back in the broadcasters home country (state). It was interesting to hear from their perspective what the hot topics of the day were, no surprise the financial crisis and Georgia. (The one near Russia NOT in USA peach country.) Gary joined us from the Embassy for the end of the discussion and a quick tour of the broadcasting studios. I have to tell you Irmy loved her Sarah Palin thank you gift!

After we finished the ARD tour we headed over to the GMF offices for a NATO briefing with Johnathan Parish, Senior Policy Advisor, NATO Policy and Planning, Office of the Secretary General and James Snyder, Public Diplomacy Division. They gave us lots of information about NATO and how NATO and various other organizations work together, however, what I found most interesting was the discussion regarding everyone's frustration at their inability to fully work together.

We had a very interesting discussion regarding the failure to fully capitalize on the successes through the failure of all the organizations to work cohesively together on humanitarian issues. It was interesting that there was the perspective that NGO's and the various governmental entities don't work well (if at all) together to coordinate services and infrastructure development.

Next we were given EU 101, a presentation on the structure and history of the European Union by Claudia Cola and Stefano Grassi both of whom were officials with the European Commission (which is a separate entity from the European Parliament). The European Commission upholds the general interests of the Union and is the driving force in the Union's institutional system. Its four main roles are to propose legislation to the European Parliament and the Council, to administer and implement Community policies, to enforce Community law (jointly of course with the Court of Justice) and to negotiate international agreements mainly related to trade and cooperation.

The day (as an entire group) ended with a briefing from Sinne Backs-Conan, head of the Brussels Office for Dansk Insustri (DI). Sinne is a past European MMF. She represents DI in Brussels, and abroad, as the voice of the Confederation of Danish Industry. Currently 11,000 companies are "members" of DI which aims to provide the best corking conditions for Danish industry in order to improve their competitive edge.

After this some of us had to grab taxis (there was a general public transportation strike so no buses or metro running) to head back to the hotel, freshen up and then run to our dinner host meetings. This is the first time we have the opportunity to meet with our hosts in small, informal groups. I went to a dinner with 4 other fellows hosted by Paulo Casaca, Portuguese Member of the European Parliament at the Restaurant Bifanas. It was a lovely dinner of wine, fresh fish from Portugal and lively discussion regarding the current state of the EU, the financial crisis and of course American politics.

Sunday, October 5, 2008 in Leuven

This morning most of us got up and had breakfast in the hotel. (It comes with the room!) We all then met up with Christina (Brussels GMF Staff) to head out to Leuven.

We walked from the Hotel to the Brussels Central Train Station - a nice 115-20 minute march - i mean jaunt, to catch the train. Leuven was a short 30+ minute ride outside the city.

Leuven is a small University town that really typifies the Belgium experience. An interesting fact is that Dutch, French and German are the three primary languages here.

In Leuven at various times over the past century, and still today, this becomes an issue. The University is the longest - still operating Catholic university in the world. Classes were taught primarily in French until the 1960's when the Dutch population began demanding classes taught in their native tongue. At that time the University split - though it has now come back together into a single institution. In the 1960's the University in Leuven became Dutch speaking and a French campus opened elsewhere - now the two campuses are back to being a single institution with classes being offered in both languages.

We were very lucky to be joined in Leuven by Tress (GMF Staff) who gave us a guided tour of the City. Her parents are both art historians who attended University there in the 1960's and were two of the radicals who blocked the doors to the French speaking professors. They had provided her with several pages of notes regarding the art and the history of the campus.

Our speaker for the day was Koert Debeuf, a Belgian author and member of the Open VID (the Flemish Liberal party). He is a speech writer and spoke of various political issues, the banking crisis and the EU. However, what I found to be the most interesting were his thoughts on the difficulties of drafting speeches in at least two languages sometimes three or four. All of the speeches have to be in both French and Dutch, sometimes they also present in English and they may even sprinkle in a bit of German.

What was so interesting about this was the difficult transitioning from one language to another presents to the flow of the presentation and the political undercurrents of what is presented in which language. This impacts which newspapers and TV stations will cover what information. All quite fascinating.

Then a quick train ride back to Brussels for our dinner meetings with Nikolas Busse, NATO and EU Correspondent. I will let you know how that goes this evening!

The dinner was very interesting. We had several past European MMFs as well as some "friends of GMF". The discussion was lively and there seems to be a great deal of disagreement amongst Europeans regarding nearly everything! It was an interesting discussion from the fact that we were not even really in Brussels (Brussels is merely 1 of 19 municipalities that make up the metropolitan area which we generally think of as Brussels-that is where the EP is actually located - 1.5 blocks from the Hotel Leopold).

Nikolas's topic was titled "The European Union from a Journalist's Perspective" and I have to say, that this level of agreement pretty much sums it up.

Arrival in Brussels! Saturday, October 4, 2008

While that was an interesting flight! There really was NO leg room and at times I felt like the guy in front of me was sleeping on my lap – but I am certain the people behind me felt the same way. Oh well, we got in half an hour early!

Only problem was that we all had trouble answering the questions to be able to enter the country, sleep deprivation really is a form of torture. We all stumbled over tough questions like where did you come in from, what is your purpose for being in Brussels, what is your final destination? These were not supposed to be philosophical, thought provoking questions….or were they?

Seriously though, Gary’s passport had been misplaced by the United Agent who checked him in and took him to his seat. Thank goodness we still had Langer’s passport. I am not certain what they would do with the dog if Gary hadn’t had the paperwork verifying he had his all his necessary vaccinations. By the way, not sure if I have mentioned it before but Gary is blind and Langer is his guide dog. As a matter of fact Langer is an 8 year old golden lab from the California, though he now lives in the DC/Baltimore area. He is also the outgoing president of the Maryland ara of Guide dog Users organization.

It was not a fun experience, however we all learned a lot. We now know how to get replacement passports and that if you loose your passport – or an agent fails to give it back to you then you have the pleasure of spending countless hours in airport jail. Okay, it is just an office, but still no fun – especially after having not slept for about 24 hours. Luckily, Gary, Nneka and Rico were able to take care of everything and get to the hotel before our afternoon meetings began.

Saturday was a good day. We had a short debriefing with an overview of the next four days in Brussels, received an updated schedule and then headed out for a walking tour of the city.

It is rainy and cold here in Brussels, much colder than I had thought it would be – many of us are freezing and most of us failed to bring an umbrella.

I am terribly tired and I will try to remember to write more about it later, but I have to just say that dinner this evening was an experience! We had wondered the streets, looking in shops, a couple churches and some museums when we finally decided to grab dinner. The group picked a little Italian restaurant. The problem was that two of the meals came out still frozen and the fuse blew not once, not twice, not even three times but four separate occasions while they were trying to make our dinners. Oh well, the food was bad but most of us were having a good time and simply enjoying the fact that we were getting to know new and fascinating people in an exciting new city!

Friday, October 3

{Note: For some reason my camera and computer have decided that they are not willing to communicate – so you will have to wait until I can get some digital copies emailed from some of the other Fellows or until I get home for me to add pictures.}

Hello! I am typing these notes on the plane so I won’t be able to publish them for a day or two – so I apologize if they are outdated or my memory is a bit lapsed.

On Friday, October 3rd we had two more debriefings on the MMF Transatlantic experience before being shipped off to the airport.

First thing this morning (at 8 am or 7 am my time!), we had the most interesting speaker professor from the American University School of International Service, Gary Weaver. According to his bio/introduction he teaches courses on psychology and sociology with an emphasis on the cultural aspects of international politics. He was there to give us some background on European culture as well as American culture and how an understanding of both would empower us to better communicate over the next 20+ days. What I found most fascinating was the fact that most Americans don’t believe that there is an American Culture. His analysis was that we could really break American vs. European Culture down to just two verbs: be vs do. Americans culture is all about to do, what is your occupation, are you going somewhere this evening, what did you “do” on your vacation. Whereas European culture is all about being. Further, Europeans “tend” to be more realistic or fatalistic while they perceive Americans to be way to optimistic. Of course these are gross over simplifications – however, think about what level of truth exists for you.

After Gary, Thomas K-B (sorry I have no idea how to spell his last name and the book is in my luggage) he is a Director of Policy Programming at GMF and he spoke with us regarding transatlantic relations. Whereas Gary shared historical and statistical data {Did you know you are six times more likely to get mugged in London as you are in New York?}; Thomas shared the common perceptions of the day. Ideas on immigration/migration within the European Union, misconceptions regarding race, questions regarding the rising tide of racism. It was an interesting discussion and brought lots of questions to the fore.

After our sessions, around 1:30 or 2, our fearless leaders (Neil, Emily and Sasha) sent us off to Dulles to catch our flight to Brussels!

So here we sit, on the plane to Brussels from DC. I doubt that I will do much more typing as there really is NO room between me and the seat in front of me. Though as an aside, if any of you have an ipod and you are going to be doing any international travel I highly suggest the purchase of a new toy/accessory. Rico, (he is a fellow Fellow and the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies) has a pair of sunglasses that plug in to his ipod. They turn the ipod into a wide screen tv. Amazingly cool! I was sitting next to Rico and he let me try them and I have to say that they are fabulous. I would, however, suggest that if you have the opportunity to purchase and they have some that wrap around and give full eye coverage that you invest in that style – these you could see under until you were completely engrossed in the movie.

Well, more on my next dispatch from Europe!

October 2, 2008 - Dinner speaker at Nora

The speaker this evening was Jeroen Doomernick, a Dutch anthropologist focusing on immigration and integration, he is a fellow with the Transatlantic Academy. He spoke primarily about migration/immigration control with an emphasis upon regimes which attempt to attract highly skilled workers while limiting migration of lower skilled.

It was an interesting discussion focusing on the regional differences and the policies that specifically impact boarder countries.

Well, I am obviously not a good poster/blogger yet! I saved what I wrote earlier - but I failed to publish it. This will continue to be an interesting learning experience, I apologize already to all you experienced bloggers.

As most of you know DC is fabulous. Not that I will really get to see anything while I am here other than the inside of the hotel and the GMF offices. However, it is good to be in the city and get a feel for what people are talking about on the streets. Being DC it is politics - isn't it always politics? It seems that everyone is talking about the debate this evening and planning (looking for) watch parties, even many of the fellows.

Today's meetings were full of introductions, overviews of the program, filling out paperwork and getting our briefing books. This evening we have our first real presentation. I will try to tell you about it later, if I am not exhausted.

If you are bored take a look at the Hotel website: http://www.rougehotel.com/

I must say it is an interesting place, they are trying to be ultra cool and they may have tried just a bit too hard. In the pictures I doubt you can tell that the curtains are red velvet and while I haven't gone through them all - I didn't see a picture of the leopard print, terry cloth robes hanging in the closet.

Well, I am off to dinner at Restaurant Nora http://www.noras.com/ They have simply amazing organic food. John took me to dinner there when we were in DC last winter/spring.

If you would like to read through some of the briefing packets feel free:
http://www.gmfus.org/template/mmf_usa.cfm

Just some light reading to while away the hours!

Cyn

Okay,

So a lot has happened since that initial post more than a year ago. I WAS SELECTED!

Now it is October 2, 2008 and here I am in DC, getting ready to head out on this adventure. I hope to be able to upload pictures and information in order to stay in contact with you all while I am gone.

First, if you aren't familiar with the GMF you should take a look at the website: www.gmfus.org this is going to be an amazing experience.

Second, assuming you could care less about the policy and politics of international relations and development; here is the itinerary of cities I will get to visit:

Washington DC - October 2-3

Brussels, Belgium - October 3-7

Paris, France - October 8-12

Turin Italy - October 13-17

Prague, Czech Republic - October 17 - 22

Copenhagen, Denmark - October 23 - 26

After all this I will be thrilled to come home again, home again!