Pierre Vimont, France’s ambassador to the U.S., visited Atlanta Oct. 5-6 to open the final season of Louvre Atlanta, a partnership between Paris’ Musee du Louvre and the High Museum of Art.

During his visit, the ambassador’s fourth to the Southeast this year, GlobalAtlanta presented Mr. Vimont with a copy of “In Art We Trust: Louvre Atlanta Partnership Drives Cultural Renaissance," a special report on the collaboration's economic and cultural impact on Atlanta and the region.

The ambassador spoke at an event organized by the French American Chamber of Commerce's Atlanta chapter, outlining plans for the remaining three months of France’s European Union presidency.

Mr. Vimont said initiatives to curb immigration from northern Africa to Europe, increase overall security in the region and move to more efficient energy sources might be hampered by the growing global economic crisis.

Chaos in the financial sector has toppled several U.S. institutions and European governments began announcing protection plans for companies based in their countries Oct. 5.

Mr. Vimont said the U.S. and EU need to communicate with one another about the effects of the crisis and that countries within the union must improve guidelines and oversight of the European banking industry.

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