Fleur Pellerin, a deputy finance minister, is the point woman in President François Hollande’s campaign to stimulate innovation. But in trying to put a French imprint on the digital economy, she has been drawn into a growing number of disputes with U.S. technology companies like Google, Twitter and Amazon.
In South Korea, it is Ms. Pellerin’s personal story that fascinates. Abandoned on the streets of Seoul as a newborn, she was taken in by a French family who raised her in the suburbs of Paris. While more than 150,000 South Korean children have been adopted by foreign parents since the Korean War, only one, Ms. Pellerin, has risen to the top ranks of the French government.
François Hollande Surprises France With Firm Stance
François Hollande Surprises France With Firm Stance
New York Times:
President François Hollande of France has regularly been criticized as indecisive, even complacent. But the events of the last few days will go some way toward changing his image, as Mr. Hollande has moved swiftly to use the French military in Mali and Somalia after pulling off an important compromise with domestic unions over job creation.
He maybe does have the guts France needs.
How France built inequality in its cities
Excellent piece by Clare Foran for The Atlantic Cities. She took a job as an English teacher in Val-de-Reuil, a city in Normandy, northwest of Paris.
As one of France’s New Towns, Val-de-Reuil was supposed to solve many problems and be the pinnacle of urban planning.
The city instead looks dull and stark. But what went wrong?
To start, the city’s concentration of low-income housing has created a weak tax base incapable of adequately supporting the local school system or funding much-needed infrastructure projects. Another problem is that many of the available jobs are not matched to the skill set of the local workforce. A number of big name pharmaceutical companies have laboratories in Val-de-Reuil, including Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi Pasteur. But most residents lack the education or technical training needed to qualify for the positions doled out by these employers.
The whole article is a good read.