Le Siècle (think tank)


Le Siècle is an elite bi-partisan social club in France that meets once a month for dinner at the French Automobile Club in Paris's Place de la Concorde. Membership in Le Siècle "symbolizes the French nomenklatura" and includes France's top intellectuals, politicians, chief executives, journalists, and artists; since the 1970s, one-third to half of all French government ministers were members of Le Siècle, regardless of political affiliation or party membership.

History

Le Siècle was founded in 1944 by Georges Bérard-Quélin, a journalist and Freemason. The small group of the 1940s and 1950s eventually expanded to include major politicians across the political spectrum, from François Mitterrand, who was close associate of Bérard-Quélin, to Georges Pompidou via Pierre Mendès France. When a similar think tank called the Saint-Simon Foundation dissolved in 1999, many of its former members joined Le Siècle. Former CFDT Secretary General Nicole Notat has served as president of Le Siècle; not only is she the first woman to serve as president, she was also the first woman to lead a trade union in France.

Membership

Membership in Le Siècle "symbolizes the French nomenklatura" and includes France's top intellectuals, politicians, chief executives, journalists, and artists. In fact, between one-third and a half of all French government ministers were members of Le Siècle since the 1970s, regardless of political affiliation or party membership. That percentage peaked at 72% under Prime Minister Édouard Balladur. French journalist and writer Emmanuel Ratier wrote in 1996 that the club's membership controls 90% of French GDP.
According to a 2011 article in Le Monde diplomatique, the members of Le Siècle are predominantly:
There are 580 members, subject to change every year, and 160 guests.

List of members