Mission and history

History 

In 1975-76, a group of prominent French and American politicians, academics, journalists and business leaders decided to create a Franco-American structure that would serve as a place of debate, regular exchanges, and reconciliation between these two societies. 

After a year of preparation, it was finally decided to create two structures, one in Paris, and the other in New York.  This decision was announced in Washington, D.C. by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, during an official state dinner around the bi-centennial celebrations of the Declaration of Independence. 

As a result, the French-American Foundation - France was created in 1976 at the same time as its sister organization, French-American Foundation in New York. In 1993, it changed its name from the “Fondation Franco-Américaine” to the French-American Foundation - Comité Français in alignment with that of its sister organization in New York. As a result, it also modified its by-laws to create a Franco-American Council with the intention to convene the trustees from the two organizations.

Since its creation, FAF-US has received the continuous support of numerous American francophiles in Washington and New York.  FAF-France was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the business community, especially by Pechiney which had considerably expanded its American interests with the acquisition of Howmet.

Pierre Jouven, President of Pechiney, served as the first president of the Foundation until 1982.  His subsequent successors have been: Jacques Marchandise (1982-1989), Marceau Long (1989-1992), Jean Dromer (1992-1996), Michel Jaoul (1996-1997), and Michel Garcin (1997 - present).

In December 2003, the French-American Foundation – France, a not-for-profit organization, modified its by-laws to allow a change in its governance structure to that of a Supervisory Board and Management Board. Philippe Lagayette is Chairman of the Supervisory board, and Michel Garcin is the President of the Management Board.

Both the French and American structures organize more than fifty operations annually, sometimes together but always complementary.

Mission

The French-American Foundation – France was established in Paris on 1976, in coordination with its sister Foundation, the French American Foundation in New York. They share the same mission: strengthening the French-American relations and fostering a mutual understanding of each other’s policies and decisions. Both foundations are committed to working jointly.

The French-American Foundation-France counts on an extensive network of volunteers and members (nearly 300 individual members and 100 corporate sponsors or users) who help the organization, despite its limited budget, to realize an impressive list of events touching upon the full range of societal issues.

There are several long-standing programs which have made the reputation of the French-American Foundation on both sides of the Atlantic. Among these programs is the Young Leaders program: it was created in 1981 to strengthen, through two seminars taking places over two years, the close, yet often delicate, relationship between France and the US through the development of a lasting network of French and American leaders in government, business, politics, arts, and the media. Over the past years, the FAF has provided the principal forum for off-the-record discussions by members of the coming generation of leadership in France and the US. The Young Leaders network has about 250 members and includes, amon others such prestigious names as John Thain (NYSE), Henri de Castries (AXA), Alain Richard (former French Secretary of Defense), Christine Ockrent (Journalist), Alain Juppé (former French prime minister), François Hollande (Secretary General of the French Socialist Party), former President Bill Clinton, General Wesley Clark, Alexandre de Juniac (Thales), Philippe Wahl (CEO RBS France), Michael Oreskes (Executive Editor, IHT). A similar seminar-type of network has been organized specifically for journalists.

As part of that premiere role on leadership, we have become more and more called upon by members to give them a private and exclusive access to the extended network of political figures, economic and business leaders, journalists, we meet through our actions. We also add to this really important mission by developing some social events, among which the Annual Gala stands out.