Franco-British Colloque

Franco-British Colloque
Founder	Lord Simon
Membership	•  Pierre-André de Chalendar •  Adair Turner •  David Simon •  Janet Helen O'Hara •  Sadiq Khan •  Peter Mandelson •  Amber Rudd •  George Osborne •  Gordon Brown •  Thierry Breton •  Simon McDonald •  Simon McDonald •  Vincent de Rivaz •  Frank Petitgas •  John Scarlett •  Richard Lambert (editor) •  Rushanara Ali •  Anatole Kaletsky •  Wendy Alexander •  David Willetts •  Paddy Ashdown •  Yvette Cooper •  Jesse Norman •  Jo Johnson •  Charles Roxburgh •  Olivier Cadic •  Philip Stephens

The Franco-British Colloque is an elite networking event very much like the British-American Project, Konigswinter or Bilderberg. Big business sponsor promising politicians, intelligence leaders and top bureaucrats to a get-together in a luxury hotel.

Overview

The Franco-British Colloque was founded by BP boss Lord Simon in the 1990s, and has always been corporate-sponsored. The conference committee invite 50 British and 50 French “delegates” to come debate the big issues. Like Bilderberg, this is where corporate Establishment grandees invite younger political faces.

The Colloque typically has two “chairs” who help organise the event, one British, one French. The British chair per 2017 is Lord Adair Turner,the French chair is Pierre-André de Chalendar, boss of French construction giant St Gobain.

Labour MP Sadiq Khan gives the following account of the meeting on 19 January 2006:

I also attended a Franco-British Colloque with leading French and British Politicians, Business people, academics and professionals. Speakers included George Osborne, the Chancellor Gordon Brown, the French Economic, Finance and Industry Minister Thierry Breton and Adair Turner (Chair of the Pensions Commission). Topics covered included "Europe beyond the constitutional debacle", "Islam; integration or alienation", "China and India; economic threat or opportunity for Europe" and "Energy; between security and environment". It was a fascinating conference with plenty of food for thought for both countries.

Peter Mandelson notes:

I have participated for many years on a regular basis in the annual Anglo-German Konigswinter Conference, the Franco-British Colloque, the UK-Spanish Tertulias, the UK-Italian Pontignano and other similar events. I have spoken at numerous Conferences on the future of Europe. For example in the last twelve months, I participated in the Bertelsmann International Forum in Berlin, gave the Den Uyl Lecture in Amsterdam and spoke in Warsaw, Budapest, Madrid and Paris.

Not in Wikipedia, not much online presence

As usual with these kinds of conferences, there is no Wikipedia mention of it, and barely any material found on Google or in the press.

2017 conference

The 2017 conference was sponsored by 4 companies, including EDF Energy and the bank Morgan Stanley.

The British attendees from 2017 include two ministers from the Department of Business, Energy Minister Jesse Norman and Universities Minister Jo Johnson, Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary at the Treasury, three top Foreign Office (FCO) officials — Sir Simon McDonald (FCO permanent under secretary), Angus Lapsley (UK Ambassador to EU Political and Security Committee) and Lord Llewellyn (ambassador to France), Simon Stevens — chief executive of NHS England, Labour MPs Yvette Cooper and Rushanara Ali, Tory MPs Dominic Grieve and George Osborne (who was still an MP then); SNP MPs Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh and Joana Cherry and independent (ex-Ukip) MP Douglas Carswell.

The 2017 business attendees included EDF boss Vincent de Rivaz, Morgan Stanley investment boss Frank Petitgas and former MI6 boss Sir John Scarlett, who is now a Morgan Stanley adviser.

Douglas Flint, chairman of HS BC, and [c]], CEO of Credit Suisse, also attended the 2017 event.

There was also a “special session” addressed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd and De Chalendar on “Progress in tackling climate change following the Paris climate change.” Ministers’ trips are registered at their department, but (as with Jesse Norman) there is no official record of Amber Rudd’s attendance.

People

• Nick Butler, BP
• Richard Lambert, CBI, Trustee [1]
• The company director is listed as Janet Helen O'Hara

Attendees

• Paddy Ashdown 1998
• David Willetts 2000
• Wendy Alexander 2001
• Anatole Kaletsky 2005
• Sadiq Khan 2006
• Sir Simon McDonald from the FCO attended in 2017.
• Labour MP Rushanara Ali
• Former MI6 boss John Scarlett

 

Known members

21 of the 27 of the members already have pages here:

Member	Description
Rushanara Ali	UK Labour MP on the executive committee of the British-American Project.
Paddy Ashdown	Chatham House President for 10 years. MI6 operative and UK politician
Thierry Breton	French politician and leader of large corporations, briefly at Rothschild & Cie Banque. WEF/Global Leaders for Tomorrow/1998. From 2019 European Commissioner implementing censorship.
Gordon Brown	UK deep state functionary. Prime Minister from 2007-2010. WHO ambassador for Global Health Financing from 2021
Pierre-André de Chalendar	Double Bilderberg French businessman.
Yvette Cooper	Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee
Michael Gove	Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Secretary of State in Boris Johnson's government. Reappointed by Rishi Sunak
Jo Johnson	Younger brother of Boris Johnson, Bullingdon and other deep state connections
Anatole Kaletsky	Bilderberg economist journalist on the board of George Soros' Open Society Foundations
Sadiq Khan
Richard Lambert (editor)	Fettes College, Balliol, on the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England
Peter Mandelson	Supranational deep state operative. Bilderberg, TLC, Ditchley etc.
Simon McDonald	UK Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service 2015-2020.
Jesse Norman
George Osborne	Suspected UK deep politician, heavy Bilderberg habit,
Amber Rudd	British Conservative Party politician. Opponent of Brexit.
John Scarlett	MI6 chief 2004-2009
David Simon
Philip Stephens	SDS-connected British editor
Adair Turner	Front man for George Soros-initiatives.
David Willetts

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.