ANALYSIS
What are the key issues in French energy policy?
In an article for the media outlet ZePros Territorial, Jean-Pierre Malbec analyzes the major challenges facing French energy policy and discusses the difficult process of finalizing its flagship document, the Multiannual Energy Plan (PPE in French). In particular, he outlines the key issues and implications of the current abundance of
“Reaffirming Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age”
Building a Free, Safe and Demanding Space for Expression By Thaima Samman, Attorney, Chair of the Working Group “Reaffirming Freedom of Expression” – La villa numeris A cornerstone of democracy, freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom of the highest order. Like any fundamental freedom, it is not
IAPP Webinar: EU Digital Law and Policy: Mapping the Emergent Landscape
Our colleague, Anca Caruntu, participated in the IAPP webinar “EU Digital Law and Policy: Mapping the Emergent Landscape” (December 2025). The discussion explored the upcoming 2026 EU legislative agenda and examined the anticipated impact of the Digital Omnibus package unveiled by the European Commission in November 2025. Read
The EU-U.S. Trade Deal and Beyond: Managing Fragility, Competition, and Diversification
Executive Summary Over the course of summer 2025, the European Union (EU) engaged in negotiations with the United States (U.S.) to reach an agreement aimed at preventing a trade escalation. The resulting agreement, formalized in a Joint Statement on August 21st, involved a number of trade concessions by the
Autumn on Edge: France Faces a Season of Challenges
In light of this summer’s discussions and political positions taken, Prime Minister François Bayrou has acknowledged the virtual impossibility of his government surviving the debate in Parliament on budget bills this fall. He has therefore taken the initiative to set the timetable and will likely “leave before being pushed out.”
AI for the Public Service Report
At a time when generative artificial intelligence is making lightning-fast inroads, the report on “Public services at the test of artificial intelligence”, which came out on July 3rd past, proposes a collective, cross-disciplinary reflection on the conditions for a responsible, controlled, and democratic use of AI in public services. The
French Resilience Bill: Will Local Authorities Change their Cybersecurity Practices?
In an opinion piece published in May 2025 in the public sector-focused publication Zepros Territorial, Anca Caruntu and Julie Quatresols weigh in on the proposed “Resilience” Bill, aimed at stepping up cybersecurity in France through the transposition of three major EU directives: NIS2 (network security), CER (critical entities resilience) and
Pursuing Gender Equality: A Matter of Democracy and Efficiency
In an article published in Zepros Territorial, the number one news source for local authorities, Thaima Samman and Sabina Lindstedt look back at the findings of a study of regional HR policies promoting gender equality in the workplace conducted by the association Régions de France and Eurogroup Consulting and released
A week in Washington: Editorial by Thaima Samman
A week in Washington: Don’t look for a plan B, who knows if there was ever a plan A… Spending the week from April 7th to 11th in Washington DC meant taking part in the epochal transformation of the world order that began with Donald Trump’s return to