My guest is Philip Etienne.

Philip Etienne is a graduate of France's prestigious Ecole My guest is Philippe Aetienne.

Philippe Aetienne is a graduate of France's prestigious Ecole Normale Superiore in mathematics

and became a diplomat upon completing his civil service training at Ennard,

the Ecole National Administration, in 1980.

He has served in the former Yugoslavia in Moscow

and was ambassador in Romania from 2002 to

2005 at the end of the accession negotiations of this country to the European Union. He was posted

twice in Germany before and after the reunification in Bonn 1984-86 and as ambassador to Germany in Berlin

2014-2017, as well as on three occasions

at the permanent representation of France to the European Union, most recently from 2009 to 2014,

as ambassador, permanent representative, joined the Riozone crisis.

He's also worked from Paris on European affairs at

different periods. In 2005, he became Director General for International Cooperation Development

at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs before leading the office of Bernard Kushner,

Minister of European and Foreign Affairs until April 2009. He was the first diplomatic

advisor to President Emmanuel Macron,

and his Sherpa, notably, joined the French G7 presidency. His final posting was as ambassador

to the United States 2019, 2023. After retirement from the Diplomatic Service in July

2023, he was appointed president of the mission

of the 80th anniversary of the landings in Normandy and province of the liberation of France

and of the victory in 1945, which was tasked among other commemorations to organize the international

...