“Twenty years ago Barcelona was a trendy place. Today it is a leading light on the world stage. When you talk about the city in Asia or Latin America your audience’s eyes light up with a mix of envy and the desire to hear more”.
This is the opinion of a Frenchman who is an authentic expert on Barcelona because, as he puts it, the city has been his “personal choice”. Philippe Saman, Head of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Barcelona for the last 36 years, is passionate about the city that he has seen undergo a radical transformation into the modern metropolis we know today.
Saman tells us that what the French particularly appreciate about Barcelona is the fact that it is within easy reach (making it the perfect destination for the short breaks made possible by France’s system of combining TOIL days in order to enjoy long weekends) and its cultural proximity. The city also has a “strong appeal” for young innovators working in the Internet and technology sectors. La French Tech, a collective brand created by the French government to focus attention on those cities with a dynamic start-up ecosystem, has recently formed a hub in Barcelona, as part of its strategy to support entrepreneurs, backed by French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, a rising star on the French political scene and one of the initiative’s staunchest defenders.
Saman arrived in Barcelona in 1979 to do his military service, an option open at that moment to young French men with a university education. The alternative was Iran, where the Islamic revolution had just broken out, which meant that he would most likely have been repatriated. He immediately felt at home in Barcelona. Born in Marseille to a Lebanese father, he settled in at once to life in a city that was experiencing one of its most exciting periods, with a vibrant and dynamic underground culture that preceded Madrid’s famous movida cultural wave.
“This is my city and I feel fully integrated here. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Barcelona has a great future to look forward to”, he enthuses. In this sense, he stresses the importance of tourism in a city with so many attractions and that welcomes such large numbers of leisure and business visitors. “Tourism is the city’s principal source of income”, he explains. However, he admits that certain tourism issues require regulation, although he stresses that any measures adopted should be agreed through negotiation and consensus.
A keen football fan and member of Barcelona F.C. for thirty years, he is passionate about keeping fit, films (a hobby he shares with his partner) and the city’s fantastic culinary offer. He believes that Barcelona should keep its sights firmly set on the international market and is convinced that the city will continue to hold a fascination for the French market. Nevertheless, he also warns that the city should pamper visitors from its closest neighbour, taking care to offer them a high standard of service in their own language.
The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Barcelona (www.camarafrancesa.es) was founded in 1883 and is the oldest in the world. Almost 800 French companies operate throughout Catalonia in all areas of economic activity. Saman, who was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi (Cross of Saint George, one of the highest civil distinctions in Catalonia) in 2015, coordinates the group of heads of EU member state Chambers of Commerce in Barcelona.
barcelonaturisme.com
