On January 27, 2021, I joined noted French writer Antoine Garapon in a one-hour “webinar” covering current developments and trends in cross-border cooperation between France and the United States on criminal matters.
The discussion was basically optimistic: unlike outcomes in 2014 involving the bank BNPParibas and French industrial icon Alstom — which resulted in French companies agreeing to huge criminal penalties without any participation by French authorities — the 2020 resolution of corruption charges against Airbus was addressed primarily by French authorities.
My exchange with Antoine was immeasurably enhanced by the participation of Florence Hermite, the “magistrate de liaison” representing the French Ministry of Justice at the French Embassy in Washington.