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Despite the pandemic and some struggles in the U.S.-France relationship, this fall has already brought about an optimistic time of transitions in Atlanta’s French business community, the country’s consul general told Global Atlanta.
This week, the consulate kicked off its annual France-Atlanta series with Georgia Tech, an exploration of science, technology business and humanitarian topics now entering its 12th year. (See the full schedule here)
Though the vaccine requirement for guests at the opening ceremony showed that the pandemic hadn’t yet been vanquished, that it was held at all is a departure from the all-virtual 2020 edition.
It’s also the first major event held since Atlanta was designated by the French finance ministry as a “La French Tech” hub — an imprimatur that many say puts the city on the map for French entrepreneurs. The effort, including letters of support from the economic development community and the private sector, was led by the consulate’s scientific attache, Rami Abi-Akl.
“La French Tech Atlanta is a great achievement of our work here,” said Vincent Hommeril, France’s consul general in Atlanta covering six southeastern states. “It’s really a good push for the startups working in this sector, so that they can come here and have help from the French authorities, and we hope also from the American authorities — building bridges between Atlanta and the French tech community.”
Fittingly, on the day of the discussion, French-origin restaurant tech firm Sunday announced that it had raised a $100 million round, much of which would go toward fueling its North American outreach from Atlanta.
Mr. Hommeril, who took up his post in August 2019, months before the pandemic struck, said these developments are signs of momentum in a relationship that has been continuously cultivated, even in the thick of travel restrictions and dislocations related to COVID-19.
“It was a difficult task, but in the diplomatic service we say we are used to crisis, and this was a big crisis,” he said of continuing the consulate’s work without being able to meet in person. “Normally as diplomats we have adaptability, so we adapted and we did our best.”
France itself has adapted too: After suffering from strict lockdowns and a slow start on vaccinations, the country’s inoculation rates have skyrocketed to among the highest in the world. More than 90 percent of French citizens 12 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 74 percent fully vaccinated. Those who have taken the jab are able to show their status on a digital health pass that is required for entry into high-speed trains, Parisian bistros and other public places.
Americans, meanwhile, have been able to travel to France since the end of June, yet the Biden administration was slow to reciprocate the move.
The president announced the day before the Global Atlanta interview with Mr. Hommeril Sept. 22 that the U.S. would end in November what many called a “travel ban” affecting those living in Europe’s Schengen area.
“The travel ban has had great consequences for French investors here, because often people who had non-immigrant visas (which is the case of a lot of investors) had no possibly to return to France” unless they could quarantine in a third country for 14 days or get an approved “national interest exception.”
Still, Georgia’s trade with France persisted, with new investments being announced. According to figures from the French Treasury in the U.S., French companies created 23,300 jobs in Georgia in 2020, and the $3.4 billion in bilateral trade was up 18 percent over 2018.
All over metro Atlanta are signs of vibrancy, from the French-America Chamber’s new move to Peachtree Corners, which is piloting French-made autonomous shuttles, to the Alliance Francaise’s enhanced European grant that will help it open a new downtown Atlanta office with the Goethe-Zentrum.
Tough Times in America’s Oldest Alliance
Whether that bonhomie will persist in the face of unprecedented challenges to the U.S.-France relationship is another story.
Mr. Hommeril was loath to offer any opinion beyond those expressed by his foreign ministry, but he did lay out the facts behind a situation that snarled bilateral ties during the week leading up to his talk.
The U.S. announced the AUKUS partnership with Australia, a deal that would see the American military provide its Pacific partner with nuclear-powered submarines, ostensibly to be used to patrol the region as a counterweight to China’s growing naval might.
The only problem? France had already inked a more than $60 billion deal with Australia to supply diesel-powered subs, and officials say they were blindsided by the announcement. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called it a “stab in the back” and recalled the French ambassadors to Australia and the United States for consultations — an extraordinary diplomatic move usually reserved for adversaries.
Mr. Hommeril made no comment other than to say that the U.S. would have to work to rebuild trust, and he added some local flavor to the background of the deal noting that substantial training of Australian naval officials on submarine operations had already been happening in his native region of France: Normandy, where the subs would have been assembled.
Perhaps as a counterpoint to the present difficulty, he outlined a recent activity undertaken by the consulate that showcases the enduring power of the alliance with America’s oldest ally.
On Sept. 17, the same day the ambassadors were recalled, Mr. Hommeril was in Thomson, Ga., awarding the Legion of Honor medal to Luciano “Louis” Graziano, a 98-year-old World War II veteran who is the last living witness to the Nazi surrender at Reims, France. It was the second such award the French government has bestowed on a Georgian this year.
“Each time it’s very moving, because these people are very simple. They say, ‘Oh, I’m not a hero; the heroes are my comrades who died while fighting.’ But I always say, ’No, happily you survived, but you fought like the others, so you are a hero too,’” Mr. Hommeril said. “France will be eternally grateful to them.”
The Consular Conversations series is sponsored by Miller & Martin PLLC and was hosted in this instance at the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
See upcoming events with diplomats from Indonesia, Greece, the United Kingdom and other countries at www.globalatlanta.com/events.