A guest on CAMERA MOSAIQUE (MCTV, Ch. 283) broadcast in Massachusetts on the Comcast network, the diplomat gave an overview of the main activities and initiatives of the consular representation in order to promote trade relations. , scientific, cultural and educational between France and this important region of the North-East of the United States (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New-Hampshire, Vermont and Maine).
Massachusetts is the 8th destination for French companies in the United States. Their subsidiaries employ more than 18,000 people there, or 3.5% of their jobs in the United States. Sanofi (Genzyme, Sangstat), Dassault Systèmes, Safran, Saint-Gobain and Veolia are among the main French employers in Massachusetts, declared Mr. Valéry FRELAND at the outset.
French companies (around 300 in number) are notably present in the important sectors of health, biotechnologies, new technologies, or even finance (with Natixis in particular), the French diplomat said in this interview.
In 2014, trade in goods between France and Massachusetts reached $ 1.5 billion. Computer / electronic components and chemicals account for 40% and 20% of Massachusetts state exports to France, respectively. Among the most important French investments in the region, we can point out the buyout in 2011 of the American biotechnology company Genzyme by Sanofi for 20.1 billion dollars.
Regarding academic and scientific relations between France and New England, Mr. Valéry Freland underlined that the initiatives taken in this field have a dual objective: first to attract the greatest number of American students to France and vice-versa. versa, then create joint research centers between the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) and major American universities (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard etc …
Asked about the major challenges of “European Construction”, the 60th anniversary of which on May 9th brought back, Mr. Freland presented a specialist diagnosis for having been between 2007 and 2009 Advisor to the Permanent Representation of France to the Union European Union in Brussels. “Europe is currently facing three (3) crises: first a crisis of legitimacy, then an identity crisis and finally European construction does not leave the feeling of protecting against globalization” explained Mr. Valéry Freland .
On the promotion of the French language in New England, the Consul General of France thinks that the strong Haitian presence of 100,000 members in Boston contributes to the vitality of the Francophonie in the region.
The interview in its entirety.
