[Updated] We were invited this evening to attend the "Bastille Day" reception hosted by the new French Consul General of San Francisco and his wife - Mr and Mrs Mourier (pictured) arrived 11 months ago - at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Inspite gaving birth recently to their 4th child, Madame Mounier was present at the event.
It was a nice occasion to mingle with the who's who of the Bay Area Francophones. I had a chance o reconnect with friends from the French Embassy, Societe Generale, Sun Microsystems, the Citroen Club, Harmonic, etc... And also had great contacts with many more, including the CEOs of start-ups Yoono.com and DisplayLink.

More details on the reception, the speeches... after the jump.

France is still a dynamic nation!

During the French version of his speech, French Consul General Pierre-François Mourier pointed to some proofs for France's renewed dynamism: "La Grande Nation" has the highest birth rate in Europe (sic!) and created 5 million new companies in 5 years! France is also very well represented in the Bay Area with 400 French companies subsidiaries, employing a total of 50,000 people.



Did you know that the EU is the largest investor in the U.S.?

In Mourier's speech in English, the French Consul General highlighted the European Union-United States relationship, "the largest economic relationship" representing $2.5 trillion and responsible for 40 million jobs, half of which are in the U.S.

"2 out of every 3 dollars that are invested in the U.S. by countries outside the United States are invested by countries of the European Union. And the EU is by far the biggest investor in the United States", French Consul General Pierre-François Mourier said.

Then followed some words from Tom Horn and Nancy Benett, on behalf, respectively of Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco and Governor Schwarzenegger



And finally, the U.S. and France National Anthems



I almost forgot... here is how the invitation card looked like