Paris-Berlin Exchange: Part 1 (Paris).

So I joined a group called the Young European Federalists of Paris. This is a pro European, trans-partisan group. So basically we agree that the EU is important and support it but we might not necessarily all share the same political position other than that. Also, many of us are political activists and organize marches and things, but some are less outspoken. We all enjoy coming together to discuss, learn, network and hopefully help foster a peaceful and effective union. The group is meant to bring together people who believe in the EU but may not all share the same ideas about everything. There are so many different branches that exist throughout Europe of young people who want to support the EU like ours located in Paris. (Fun fact: there are actually three branches located in Paris!)

In the spirit of networking, the groups of Paris and Berlin have a good relationship with one another. Since Germany and France are the two big fish in the European pond, we have a particular interest in maintaining franco-german relations.

PARIS:

We decided to host the German group in Paris over the last weekend of April because it was a long holiday weekend for both Germany and France. This was also probably not the best idea because it was a holiday weekend for Germany and France. :P The city was a bit full, tickets were a bit more expensive and it was difficult to find experts willing to participate in workshops for us. Despite these challenges, we managed to pull off a great week (is a 6-day weekend called a week or a weekend??)

The first day we met up and basically spent the day hanging out, seeing Paris, and getting to know one another which we kicked off with a three-hour brunch! The weather this the weekend was consistently terrible from day one, starting immediately after we met up. So our original plan of wandering the streets of Paris was officially thrown out the window. We headed to Notre Dame Cathedral to stay out of the rain. (Which is actually terrible logic because there’s always a long queue to get in, which means standing in the rain.) There are so many churches in Europe that you become desensitized to their wonder. The Notre Dame is special because it’s not this way at all. You might be wary to go in because it’s touristy and such a long wait, but it’s popular for a reason and worth the wait! We also went to the Victor Hugo house. Which I have to admit was not incredibly interesting. My favorite part was the fact that the carpet, walls, curtains, ceiling and upholstery are ALL THE SAME FABRIC. It was honestly ridiculous.

The next day was the official kickoff of the program. We had a lecture by Samuel Faure titled, “European Defense and Elections: what is at stake?” This was the week before the presidential election so we talked about the “what if's” of the elections in France and their implications for the French government, franco-german relations, and the status of the European Union. I could easily write a report on each workshop and discussion but I’ll refrain in an attempt to keep this short.

After lunch we headed to the Palais du Luxembourg (or the Palace of the Senate) for a tour of the building and a detailed explanation to how the senate actually functions. This was quite a beautiful place to see and an even more informative place to learn about how this section of the government works.

We also had a workshop about populism and the role it will play in the presidential elections. Populism is a slightly complex term to define entirely but it refers to a campaign aimed at the masses or the ordinary man. This ideology is becoming evermore important in the grand political scheme and especially in predicting the direction democracy will take us. Sociology is the biggest pillar of study in this topic, in my opinion, which makes it super interesting to study.

Next, we did speed-debating on the role of the franco-german couple in European strategy. For this we had a few different experts and (like speed dating) we spent a certain amount of time with each expert and then moved on to the next. Since this was the weekend before the presidential elections, we took some time to incorporate some street action where we were out on the streets to talk to people about supporting the EU but also just encouraging people to go out and vote. This was actually so cool because the Germans (and me, the American) were interested in promoting a thriving French nation. We all believe that a strong French state is good for a greater European (and global) community. We also attended a European Movement (of Paris) meeting so our German friends could see how we do things here.

We had the opportunity to explore the city with our German friends. One night, we attended a concert at the École Normale Supérieure. This is the most prestigious school in France, admitting only twenty students a semester to each branch. The Paris branch is for the performing arts and other liberal studies. We went to an Arabic electronic concert, which was actually a really fun show.

We also went to the Pantheon, Saint-Sulpice Church and Sacre Coeur for some sight-seeing.

We also had the opportunity to see two museums. The first is Jacquemart-André Museum and the second is the Institute of the Arab World. This is an incredible place that I highly recommend. It's a gorgeous building and there's so much information about things I didn't know I didn't know. Also, there's a beautiful view of Paris from the top!

Throughout the week, we ate at some really amazing places that included all the French necessities: crepes, wine, and baguettes. We also spent each night at a different bar in the thriving Latin Quarter for drinks. We also spent one night on the town for a night of clubbing, which was a nice, energetic end to a wild weekend.

Click to read about the second part of the twinning in BERLIN!