French Ambassador Vimont Talks About Our Future Together

A Frenchman runs Amazon's worldwide customer service; a French-made engine powers Boeing's 737s. In all, some 600,000 Americans owe their jobs to French investment in the U.S., while American investment in France employs 600,000 Frenchies. Despite the economic crunch felt by both countries, there's still a billion dollars of bilateral trade between the U.S. and France every day, says Pierre Vimont, the French ambassador to the U.S.

Speaking in mellifluous English to a breakfast meeting of the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Seattle yesterday (tepid coffee, cold Danish), the Ambassador predicted that the U.S. will rebound more quickly (unemployment in France is heading to double digits) even as both countries face similar challenges: bailouts for banks and automakers, uproar over outsize bonuses and stock options.

What's important, he said, is to look beyond the current crisis to the next one (China's explosive growth) and to seek new opportunities for cooperation (the next generation of space exploration, for example). France comes to the table with three decades of experience in nuclear technology and high-speed transportation, along with generations of experience in joie de vivre.

On the political front, Ambassador Vimont hinted that the Sarkozy government expects the new position of President of the European Union--to be created if and when the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified--would go to a Frenchman. Could do a lot worse.