“In the business world things are much better than what you may think”

“I think that helping business people to go and see Israel, to meet Israeli businessmen, gets you out of politics, gets you into the real world,” says Henri Cuikerman, President of the France Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in conversation with CTech during Israel’s Business Delegation to Paris led by Calcalist and Bank Hapoalim.

“I think it's the best way to improve the image of Israel in France and of France in Israel,” says Cuikerman who says that Israelis often assume incorrectly that the antisemitism that is found in other sectors of French society extends to French businesses. “In the business world, among the educated people, things are objective and much, much better than what you may think.”

Founded in 1957, the Israel-France Chamber of Commerce & Industries (CCIIF) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bilateral trade, investment and trade relations between Israel and France. Cuikerman is responsible for leading the chamber’s activities on the French side and is based in Paris.

Cuikerman notes that October 7th has impacted the number of French business and political delegations to travel to Israel, which was very common prior to. However, he asserts that French interest in doing business in Israel has not been significantly impacted. “You have separate worlds; you have the world of business, and I just cannot imagine a large group or a big sized group where you would have antisemites.”

You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.