French Presidential Election 2017 - Panel Discussion

The outcome of this year's French presidential elections may prove decisive for the future of France and Europe both. Join the European Institute for a panel discussion co-hosted with Philippe Marlière and Aline-Florence Manent.
Tuesday 25 April, 6.00pm

Whatever its outcome, the 2017 presidential election in France will be of resounding significance for the French Fifth Republic, Europe, and for democracy more generally. It crystallises many of the key challenges faced by liberal democracies today: How can we stem the tide of populism? What is the future of the European Union? How can we defend democratic values such as tolerance, inclusivity, and solidarity in an age of socio-economic disenchantment?

To tackle some of these questions, the European Institute at UCL is hosting a panel discussion on 25 April 2017, between the two rounds of the French presidential election. The roundtable brings into conversation journalists, historians, political scientists, and economists to reflect on the consequences of the French elections for the future of democracy in Europe.

All are welcome to attend and to participate in the plenary discussion.

Speakers:

Myriam Francois-Cerrah (Oxford/SOAS University)
Myriam Francois-Cerrah is a freelance journalist and broadcaster (France, Middle East and North Africa, Islam) and a DPhil candidate in Middle Eastern studies at Oxford University.

Charles Grant (Centre for European Reform)
Charles Grant is director of the Centre for European Reform, an independent think-tank that is dedicated to promoting a reform agenda within the European Union. He writes principally on EU foreign and defence policy, transatlantic relations and Russia

Jon Henley (The Guardian)
Jon Henley is the Guardian's European affairs correspondent. He was previously a foreign correspondent most recently in Paris, where he was the paper's bureau chief for nearly a decade, and senior feature writer

Nicholas Startin (University of Bath)
Nick Startin is a senior lecturer in French and European Politics. His research focuses on Euroscepticism including the Brexit and on the Radical Right in contemporary Europe.

Aline-Florence Manent (UCL)
Aline-Florence Manent is a historian and political theorist. She is a research fellow at UCL's Institute of Advanced Studies. Her work focuses on the history and theory of democracy in modern Europe, particularly France and Germany.

Chair:
Philippe Marlière (UCL)
Philippe Marlière is a Professor of French and European Politics at the UCL School of Languages, Culture and Society and a Fellow of the UCL European Institute.   


French flag image (C) Flickr user 'wisegie' (Creative Commons licence)