Vol. 16.05 - June 2016 NEWS FROM FRANCE IS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE franceintheus.org FranceInTheUS @franceintheus franceintheus 2016 Invictus Games France brings Jonathan home hamou and dJamel mastouri following the men’s 1500 meter race, 37 in which they placed first and second. Hamou later won a gold medal in the medals men’s 400 meter dash. ©Ministère de la Défense A message from 2 Current Events Ambassador Gérard Araud 2016 Climate Action Summit 3 Interview Léonore de Roquefeuil and Laila Lawa, certainly proud of the French team, which brought CEO and chief of staff of Voxe.org Dear Friends, home 37 medals, but more importantly, formed bonds 4 In Depth Invictus Games 2016 After a very grey May, it seems that the weather has with fellow military members around the world and 6 Business & Technology finally turned around here in Washington, D.C., as people found a renewed sense of strength as athletes. First-ever French-American Business flock outside to enjoy the sun. And as pickup games of The close cooperation between our two countries Week at the French Embassy soccer and basketball resume, the French are watch- extends well beyond these athletics, as we’ve seen over 7 Culture & Society ing the professionals compete in a few major sport- this past month. In Washington, D.C., Mayor of Paris EU Open House celebrates the sport ing events hosted by the country this year: the annual Anne Hidalgo and Minister of the Environment, Energy of “football” Roland Garros tennis open at the end of May, and of and Marine Affairs Ségolène Royal took part in the 2016 8 Destination of the Month course, the 2016 EURO soccer championship this June, Climate Action Summit, where they spoke of their efforts Brocéliande followed by the world-famous Tour de France in July. to make France more sustainable overall, and to battle The pastime of sports—whether playing or simply climate change at a global level. In California, the French watching—is deeply embedded in French culture. They coding school “42” announced the opening of its first give us a chance to come together in support of our fa- U.S. location, which will now recruit talented students vorite teams and celebrate hard work and achievement, at the heart of Silicon Valley for this revolutionary com- EDITOR-IN-CHIEF regardless of who wins. As I’m sure Americans can at- puter science program. And right here at the Embassy Emmanuelle Lachaussée EDITOR test, the sense of unity fostered among loyal sports fans of France, a number of American leaders, including Am- Benoît Cormier is second-to-none. That’s why France was proud to par- bassador Charles Rivkin and Supreme Court Justice MANAGING EDITOR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER ticipate in the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida, Stephen Breyer, remarked upon the enduring strength Courtney Vinopal this past month. This Paralympic-style sporting event of French-American economic relations in a globalized STAFF WRITERS Sarah Dankens allows wounded, ill or injured service men and wom- world. Whether on or off the field, we’re stronger when en to compete in a variety of different events. We are we come together. Minister Ségolène Royal and Mayor Anne Hidalgo discuss climate initiatives at a summit in Washington, D.C. ©JB From left: Minister Ségolène Royal gives opening remarks about the implementation of the Paris Agreement; Mayor Anne Hidalgo at a press breakfast with her fellow mayors at the Climate Action Summit. At a press conference with fellow mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Denis Coderre of Montreal, Mayor Hidalgo spoke about the actions the city ©ST of Paris has taken to reduce diesel emissions. Just this past month, Paris held the first of what will be a series of monthly car-free days on the Champs- FOR LEADERS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, the signing of the COP21 Élysées. agreement on April 22 marked only the start of a significant international When addressing the attendees of the Climate Summit, Minister Royal— effort to lower the rise in global temperature and create an overall healthier who serves as the president of COP21—thanked all those who had worked to planet for future generations. advance the agenda of the Paris Agreement, which was signed by 175 state As two of France’s most visible leaders in environmental sustainability, representatives. Minister Royal also urged states to follow the examples of Minister of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs Ségolène Royal and regions like Quebec, California and Ontario in implementing carbon pricing Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo attended the 2016 Climate Action Summit in to make significant changes in energy use. “In order for the Paris Agree- Washington, D.C. At the high-level event, 700 representatives from business- ment to succeed,” she said, “we must act quickly and fairly together, and we es, cities, multilateral and civil society institutions discussed ways to acceler- must seize the opportunity to rise up to this challenge and shape the world ate global action on climate change. of tomorrow.” Secretary of State John Kerry attends meeting of International Syria Support Group in Paris ON MAY 9, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Syria. It is the hope of the ISSG that this govern- and International Development Jean-Marc ment will adopt a new Syrian constitution and Ayrault hosted a ministerial meeting of the In- organize elections, should this political transi- ternational Syria Support Group (ISSG) at the tion be achieved. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. The ISSG Co-chair of the ISSG and U.S. Secretary of consists of countries that support a political State John Kerry was in attendance at this resolution of the conflict in Syria. meeting, where he spoke about America’s During the meeting, the French minister efforts to reinstate a nationwide cessation of spoke about international efforts to rebuild hostilities in Syria, as well as the full delivery Syria and enable refugees to return to their of humanitarian assistance. While in Paris, home country. Minister Ayrault identified Secretary Kerry emphasized the importance of three principal goals in the pursuit of a peace involvement by all parties to find a lasting so- process. First, the cessation of all military lution to the Syrian crisis: “The most we diplo- operations, except when used for combating mats can do is try and bring the parties together terrorist groups recognized by the UN; second, and put together an agreement that asserts the 2000 the implementation of international humanitar- international community’s imperative,” he said. ©MAEDI/Bruno Chapiron ian law to provide protection and aid to Syrian “It is going to be up to the commanders on the Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault speaks with his civilians; and finally, the relaunching of negotia- field and the interested parties, which includes American counterpart Secretary John Kerry. tions to establish a transitional government in us,” to carry out these goals. 2 Coming to an election near you: French website Voxe.org is working to mobilize voters around the world Back in 2006, when Léonore de Roquefeuil was in her first year of undergraduate studies at Scienc- es Po in Bordeaux, she experienced a moment of inspiration. Protesting the introduction of the First Employment Contract (or Contrat Première Embauche), she felt “more alive than ever before.” But when she spoke with her fellow pro- testors, she realized something: many young people did not understand what the First Employ- ment Contract actually was. It was at this point that she joined a project that would eventually be- come the non-profit Voxe.org, an online platform that seeks to better explain complex legislation to users in order to foster a more informed elec- torate. Voxe.org’s most important feature is its com- ©AR ©Huda Alawa parative elections tool, which allows users to From left: Léonore de Roquefeuil, CEO of compare candidates’ proposals side-by-side. came directly from the candidates and was not Voxe.org; Laila Lawa, Voxe.org’s chief of Roquefeuil, now the CEO of Voxe.org, and modified in any way. We want to ensure that staff for the U.S. team. Laila Lawa, who currently serves as the chief of there is no bias in the content that is offered to staff for Voxe’s U.S. team, spoke with News From users. In this way, it functions much like Wikipe- by a lack of information and awareness, which in France about the need for a tool such as Voxe.org dia. turn leads to low registration on voter lists. in an era when voters are overloaded with con- Laila: The platform is really straightforward and We have done surveys to measure if our com- flicting information from 24/7 media outlets. easy to use. In my opinion, it can actually help parative tools aided users in making a choice or increase political participation. A lot of times apa- bolstered their choice (90% of users said yes) and Why is there a need today for the tools such as thetic citizens say the reason that they don’t vote is if the tools changed users’ opinions unexpectedly those that Voxe.org has developed? because they don’t have enough information about (55% of users said yes). Laila: Considering what is going on in politics the candidates. This is a way to really democratize today, being well informed is necessary lifeblood that information. Citizens can quite literally ensure What are your goals for the future? for Americans and for anyone who cares about that other people are educated about the elections Léonore: We are working on a number of new proj- freedom. In today’s media environment, we don’t and take part in the political process by recom- ects.