THE REPUTATION OF IRELAND IN FRANCE GIS EIRE Research Strand : Irish Diaspora, Economy, Migration, Integration The Reputation of Ireland in France CONTENTS Gráinne O’Keeffe-Vigneron (Université Rennes 2) Executive Summary 5 Gráinne O’Keeffe-Vigneron (Université Rennes 2) Introduction 8 Vanessa Boullet (Université de Lorraine) Ireland and France’s Economies Post-Brexit : Stronger Together 11 Julien Guillaumond (Université Clermont-Auvergne) The Reputation of Ireland in France : Are Old Clichés Withering Away Among Young French People ? 22 Anne Groutel (Université Paris 1) Survey on the Atitudes towards Ireland among University Students in France 30 Erick Falc’her-Poyroux (Université de Nantes) The “Reel-Thing” Beyond the Diaspora: Deterritoralising Irish Music in France 43 Laurent Daniel (Université Bretagne Sud) The Diffusion of Gaelic Games in France 55 Future Project 70 Notes on Contributors 76 2 The Reputation of Ireland in France CHARTS Chart 1: Percentage of Students who have been to Ireland 31 Chart 2 : General Opinion about Ireland 32 Chart 3 :Irish University Awareness 33 Chart 4 : Percentage of Students Interested in Studying in Ireland 33 Chart 5 : Opinion about the Irish Economy 35 Chart 6 : Irish Product Awareness 37 Chart 7 : Would Advise to Invest in the Irish Economy 38 3 The Reputation of Ireland in France APPENDICES Appendix 1 Cohort Size and Gender Together with Successive Filters 71 Appendix 2 Survey Structure and Questions (in French) 72 Appendix 3 74 Appendix 4 Source of Knowledge (by reply preference) 75 4 The Reputation of Ireland in France EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gráinne O’Keeffe-Vigneron BUSINESS -General awareness of Irish businesses in France is low. -French companies are looking for suppliers and business partners. Building trust is essential for establishing long-term relationships. -Some Irish companies are increasingly doing business in France; data centres, insurance and fintech pharmaceutical/ life sciences, medtech sectors or contribute to the development of “smart cities”. -Irish firms are smaller and more flexible and innovative and can provide tailored solutions for niche markets. -Concentration on clusters which are present in France and Ireland, especially biotech and agrifood industry, with the support of Entreprise Ireland/IDA. -Services are a strong asset of Irish trade and could be further developed towards France. -Consideration of a new focus on large French SMEs, especially on Ireland’s strong clusters, as multinationals have long been the focus of Ireland with significant success but also a risk of decreasing returns. Work with Entreprise Ireland and IDA in Paris and Lyon. -French nationals in Ireland are not numerous (under 5,000 people), still it could be interesting to create links through NetworkIrlande (provides the Franco-Irish business community with good networking opportunities), the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce and both Embassies. -The Irish economy was generally seen in a positive manner by French students and considered to be “dynamic” and “liberal”. The low corporate tax rate in Ireland was also mentioned (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -However, the term “tax haven” was stated a significant number of times so were the adjectives “unstable”, “fragile” and “weak” (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -Ireland not viewed as a “smart economy” (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -55.8% were able to name at least one “typically” Irish product, beer and Guinness being the top two (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). 5 The Reputation of Ireland in France EDUCATION -85% of the respondents had a very good or fairly good image of Ireland (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -However, students were not very familiar with Irish universities. 57.55% would not consider going to an Irish university as part of their studies as the majority did not consider them among the most prestigious (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -A significant number simply had no interest in the country and would rather choose another destination (Université Paris 1 questionnaire). -It is important to increase the number of Erasmus programmes with France, especially in a post-Brexit background when French universities and business schools are going to seek other Erasmus English-speaking countries. This would increase exchanges between both countries and develop a young generation of Irish students studying in France and French students studying in Ireland ready to do business with both countries in the future. IMAGE OF IRELAND -French students view Ireland very positively (Université Clermont-Auvergne). -Their main source of information on Ireland appears to be strongly correlated with their education since a great majority (80% of respondents) were taught about Ireland at secondary and/or at high schools (Université Clermont-Auvergne). -Old clichés remain strong; Ireland is associated with Saint Patrick, the festive character of the country, pubs and drinks culture, the landscape (Université Clermont-Auvergne). -This young generation is stuck in a rather old perception of what Ireland is (Université Clermont-Auvergne). -A view of Ireland that is positive but static (Université Clermont- Auvergne). MUSIC AND SPORT -Music as a cultural reality remains a process driven by amateur practice. -Irish music is widely exported. 6 The Reputation of Ireland in France -The Irish public remains largely unaware of the unparalleled importance of Irish music in its internal and external economy and unaware of the avant-garde nature of the music market in particular and of the cultural agenda as a rule. -Its capacity for integration seems boundless. -Irish music now extends far beyond Ireland often without the diaspora playing a role in it. -The GAA has a large presence in Europe. -There is a local or regional appropriation of the Irish game (Gaelic football essentially). -The ethnic sentiment that pervades the GAA seems to be one of the main reasons behind its success in Europe. -Since 2015, PE teachers in France have been allowed to teach through any sport of their choice and not an approved list. 100 PE teachers offer Gaelic football as part of their curriculum. -Some clubs do not have a single Irish member and many players had no prior interest in Celticism, regionalism or even Ireland for that matter. 7 The Reputation of Ireland in France INTRODUCTION Gráinne O’Keeffe-Vigneron Ireland is soon to be the EU’s only English-speaking nation and closer ties with the European continent will be of greater importance in a post- Brexit EU. The departure of the UK from the EU is leading Ireland and France to strengthen their bilateral ties and forge stronger links developing Irish-French relations in the areas of diplomacy, culture and business. In this report Vanessa Boullet analyses how links between the Irish and French economies could be reinforced. Since the implementation of the economic policy of attracting FDI, Ireland has always had a keen eye on France: In the 1950s, Ireland studied French planning so as to implement a similar policy in the country. Although France was not initially the main target of the FDI strategy, it is now Ireland’s fourth economic partner1. France is Ireland’s sixth largest importer and also Ireland’s sixth largest export partner2. Irish firms are aiming to increase food and drink exports to 1 billion euros in the future3. There are over 400 Irish companies in France with more than 23,000 people employed in Irish-owned companies4. Ireland was recently granted observer status at the 84-country Organisation Internationale de Francophonie, which promotes French linguistic ties. The Franco-Irish Chamber of Commerce represents more than 170 French companies operating in Ireland with tourism between the two nations remaining an important sector5. In a post-Brexit reconfiguration of European trade and business, reinforcing links, partnerships and trade between France and Ireland will be of an even greater importance. A positive reputation of Ireland in France could be considered as essential if French businesses or French people wish to develop relations or increase exchanges with Ireland be it in business ventures or even through tourism and culture. Through an on-line survey and a questionnaire aimed at Applied Foreign Languages students at the Université Clermont-Auvergne and Economics students at Paris 1, 1 Vanessa Boullet, Ireland’ and France’s Economies Post-Brexit : Stronger Together, (in this report). 2 Ruairi Kavanagh, France and Ireland Work to Strengthen Ties as Brexit Looms, South EU Summit, <https://southeusummit.com/europe/france/france-and-ireland-work-to- strengthen-ties-as-brexit-looms/>. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 8 The Reputation of Ireland in France Julien Guillaumond and Anne Groutel present their findings in this report on the knowledge of these French students concerning Ireland and their opinion of the country and of Irish people. Julien Guillaumond’s on-line survey was organised at the Université Clermont-Auvergne was available from 13 to 20 January 2020 to 1st year Applied Foreign Languages undergraduate students. The survey was divided into 5 sections firstly identifying the profile of the students. The next section aimed at ascertaining what the students knew about Ireland, then the students were required to associate words/ideas with the country. The remaining sections allowed respondents to develop on their answers. In the end, the cohort consisted of 122 students (98 women, 24 men) aged from 18 to 21. 48% came from the Puy-de-Dôme department, whilst the others came from neighbouring areas, the second largest being Allier, followed by Haute-Loire. Anne Groutel’s survey was organised from 28-29 November 2019 at the university Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. The questionnaire was made available to 146 students aged 19-22, 57 of whom were studying economics as their major or as part of a double degree course and most of them have a good level in English. The questionnaire aimed at evaluating the general opinion about Ireland of a sample of university students, therefore a young cohort. The students were questioned about their knowledge of Ireland and whether they would consider going there on an Erasmus exchange.