COUNTYWIDE : Vasquez to Be Guest in French Program
Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez leaves Friday for an all-expense-paid trip to France, where he will spend two weeks, courtesy of the French government, participating in a new cultural exchange program.
Vasquez is one of no more than 10 Americans who will participate in France’s Invitational Cultural Exchange Programme, begun last year. Participants are chosen because they “show promise of a brilliant future” in their careers within their own countries, according to the French Consulate.
Vasquez chose his own subjects to study while in France: local and regional government, public transit, national health care and environmental policies.
He said he expects to gain “invaluable insight into French custom and governmental operations.”
The French government began the program to teach Americans about France “beyond the traditional cliches,” according to the consulate.
Vasquez will meet with Admiral Philippe de Gaulle, a senator and the son of the former French President Charles de Gaulle.
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