Excerpt: US Embassy
Excerpt from my UK/FR Travel Journal, April 2016
US Embassy Visit for an Economic Briefing on France:
The visit to the US Embassy in Paris was one of my favorites – from having a little piece of home with us to being special guests at one of the oldest purpose serving buildings in the world. I was feeling rather honored. The economic officer, Don Wald, on his 3rd year of service, led our economic briefing.
His role is to let policymakers know what’s going on in France and he’s had his own share of official visitors in the past few years from John Kerry, President Obama, and other cabinet secretaries. The most recent event that drew in a gathering of officials pertained to COP21 (climate change congress). Through a macroeconomic viewpoint, despite being one of the largest trading countries in the world, France’s domestic economy is down and hasn’t been able to recover. Unemployment is high coming in at 10-11% since 2008’s financial crisis. Most of these figures can be attributed to the youth of the suburbs—very much self contained outside of the bigger cities.
The November 11, 2015 shooting in Paris was considered a political/economic nexus especially critical now with the Presidential election to take place in 2017. In tackling the issue of unemployment, there are proposals to create programs of apprenticeships or temporary internships to boost unemployment rates.
The French workforce was described as mature and diversified, skilled and productive. France is also a technologically advanced country being the largest exhibitor at the global consumer electronics and consumer technology tradeshow in Las Vegas (CES). France is also a leader in spurring the growth in the “internet of things.” This, of course, can be a huge draw for overseas companies because they can hire these trained workers, engineering students who receive low average salaries. Despite having such a pool of candidates to choose from, these workers have to look elsewhere because the venture capital scene in France is not as robust as that which can be found in Silicon Valley.
Wald stated that the US is France’s 5th largest trading partner. The US mainly exports high tech items to France. The French, in return, rely on their agriculture and Americans can benefit from their artisanal wines and cheeses, amongst other goods. Interestingly enough, the French has been able to create thousands of jobs in the US alone (around 560,000 in job support) by having their facilities Stateside.
Assessment
Joking with one of my classmates prior to our visit, we both agreed that embassies are places you go straight to when something bad happens. We shared the same view that it was somewhat of a sanctuary. We were entering hallowed ground and this was present in my mind the entire course of our trip especially because of the recent terrorist attack that took place in Brussels weeks ago.
We had been affected by the realities we were about to face as traveling students, but we were assured in our own sensibilities as well as our previous experiences abroad. This did not affect our views that the US embassy was our home, our safe haven and this symbolism carried over during our visit, but after our briefing, my perspective and respect grew even deeper as well.
Analysis
Wald, our speaker, was very well spoken and knowledgeable about France and the United States’ role with one another. As I mentioned before, our impressions of the embassy were quite shallow and we thought it served a singular purpose for US citizens. After this discussion, we grew more appreciative of the Embassy’s role with France. Wald demonstrated true ambassadorship—connecting with the local folks, its business people and sectors. He truly understood what it means to be French and I could see how he was trying to nurture the relationship between the US and the country he’s been assigned to. He also was bridging the gap for us students as well. Benjamin Franklin would be proud.