By Roxanne Rua One of the most noticeable aspects of South African culture I encountered when arriving here from abroad was the passion that so many people have for sports. Be it soccer, rugby, cricket or any number of amateur athletic pursuits, South Africans are loyal supporters, talented participants and indeed good sportsmen and women. […]
The blog from the frogs
Philippe Orliange and Cecile Vigneau are career diplomats. Philippe currently holds the position of deputy head of mission at the French Embassy in Pretoria. Cecile is first secretary in charge of following South Africa’s foreign policy. She also heads the press section of the embassy. The French Embassy wants to take the opportunity provided by Thought Leader to share France’s views on topical issues that can be of interest to other bloggers.
Posted inNews/Politics
A watershed moment in Franco-South African relations
By Olivier Brochenin This year is an important one for the bilateral relationship between France and South Africa. In 2011 France has assumed a double presidency of the G8 and G20, South Africa has been accepted as a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council and Durban will host COP 17, where the international […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The soul of Seoul
By Philippe Orliange There was some gloom in the South African papers about the outcomes of the Seoul G20 summit — “G20 summit did not fail those with low expectations … ” (Sunday Times), “G20 a colossal failure” (Sunday Independent), “Much ado about nothing” (Business Day). Beyond SA, the view in many places was that […]