Marie
A grand-mother of 77, activist at ATTAC, an international movement working towards social, environmental and democratic alternatives in the globalisation process.
"WCT : (…) with the 2008 crises what did you think about this situation and this state of the world?
It was just unbelievable, not possible, I couldn’t believe it, could I ? that it could have gone so far, in as much you couldn’t say who was the criminal, since financial markets are completly abstract, with no faces. The aristocray in the old times, they had faces. There were counts and marquesses and you could cut their heads. How, for god sake, can we cut the bankers’ heads ? we don’t even know where they are, who are responsible, we don’t even know who is to be punished ! There must be someone responsible since we are in deep shit! We are in an incredible situation. So who is to be punished ?"
Eric Laurent
French journalist, specialised in international politics
Specialist in financial and oil geopolitical issues
Author of « La face cachée des banques » (The dark side of the banks, 2009)
"WCT : In France can you quote some heroes or some emblematic characters of the financial crises, since we are particularly interested in the theatrical dimension of the crises ?
As for the finance, the financial banking field in France, everything has been quickly concealed. There has been some arrangement between the poltical world and the financial one. They are all in a very close connection ; They all come from the same senior branch of the civil service (ENA, etc…) ; So they came to a tacit agreement to downgrade the importance of the crises as regard the french banks ; So there was not any personnality that really came out, apart from one, for we always need one dark and cathartic character upon whom everything is crystallised. (…)"
Didier Schlachter
French economist
Professor at Sciences Po
Lecturer at ENA
Consultant for big companies (Total, Prague stock exchange) as well as small firms and medium-size companies
"As for lousy jokes, the first one has to do with the Dollar. The americans are in an atypical situation. Today, the dollar represents more or less sixty percent of the international denominated transactions, and an undersecretary of state for finance said,- it was James Conelly – he said : The dollar is our currency and the others' problem.
Now, if you talk about finance, you must never forget and you have to repeat it to the boys that money is just as women. : if you don’t take care of them, it’s the others who take advantage of them.
WCT : And today, who takes care of the money ?"
Jean Marquet
Professor at Sciences Po
Representative of the board of directors for a delegation at the MAIF
Advanced degree from Paris Dauphine university – Master’s degree in management, finance option, from Science-po and MBA from New-Orleans
"WCT : (…) But eventually, is finance connected to real economy?
No, financiarisation of economy has a perverse side ; it’s just like … Excess is a bad thing for everything. The problem is the problem of excesses in finance. It is finance for finance. It is not finance for the production of goods and services. I always stick to the idea that finance is good when it enables to produce goods ans services to satisfy the needs of the peole. But when it is limited to an exchange of signs which are no longer related to real production, then comes aberrations !"
Sarah Botta
High school diploma and a bachelor degree in the real estate
She arrived in Ireland in October 2007, worked in Galway in a bread and pastry shop. Today she leaves in Cork and works between 25 and 35 hours a week in a pub.
« WCT : How long has the crisis been felt in Irelande ?
We do feel the crisis now since we are deep in it. I mean it’s right now, if you like. Yeah , It’s been… It was really in spring that it started. Moreover we had this budget that went through in december, so it was another blow. ‘you see people spend less money … But they always spend the money they don’t have, don’t they ? better to know it »
Harri Õunapuu
Estonian politician
From 2001 to 2003 – Minister of Finance (in the Siim Kallas Office)
Since 2003- Member of the estonian parliament
Since 2006 has been a member of the estonian liberal reforming party Eesti Reformierakond
Member of the board of directors of the estonian central bank Eesti bank
“WCT: What was Estonia’s biggest problem in the crises, what was the core of the Estonian crises compared to other European countries like Greece, Italy or Portugal as it was not quite the same crises. What was the Estonian crisis all about?
HÕ: … there wasn’t anything to export anymore, there was nothing to sell, then the jobs went away and then the percentage of unemployment became really high, and then the production was also lost and…”