Après-Midi Recap

Reflections on Being an American Overseas at the time of Trump!

We knew it would be interesting! And it was fascinating! There wasn’t a seat left to be had as the crowd filled in quickly to hear what William had to say. He believes he’s spoken at Après-Midi about 10 times, but I haven’t counted. And he always has plenty to say, as he did this time, too. So did the audience, who loved commenting on the state of the union and us as Americans living in France.

William made a good point about the term “expatriate”—which we use off-handedly to describe us “expats”—as it can refer to expatriation, the formal process of renouncing U.S. citizenship or relinquishing a green card. The word “expatriate” comes from Latin words meaning “out of” and “native country.” The term “expat” has sometimes been criticized for having connotations of privilege and being primarily applied to Western individuals working abroad, while others who move to a different country might be labeled as “immigrants.”

About William Jordan

If you watch France24, the national news channel that broadcasts in French, English, Spanish and Arabic, then you may have seen William Jordan comment on a variety of issues. He’s also the “man in the know” for BBC Radio, Radio France International and lectures on foreign affairs at the French Ecole Militaire and at the Paris campus of New York University. William is a former president of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas. In addition to that, he has joined the board of the St. Petersburg (Florida, not Russia) Conference on World Affairs. He’s one of those Americans in Paris who has made important contributions to our lives and of whom we, as Americans, are unduly proud.

William is a retired U.S. diplomat who has lived outside of the U.S. for 27 of the past 39 years. He was in the Foreign Service for 30 years (1981-2011) as a political officer specializing in the Arab world and France. His overseas assignments included Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan and Algeria and his responsibilities included reporting and analyzing foreign policy trends (especially as they related to the United States), as well as internal politics, including the rise of radical Islamist forces.

Watch the video of the session by visiting our YouTube channel.