Institut Montaigne

Founded in 2000, Institut Montaigne is a nonprofit, transpartisan think tank based in Paris, France. Institut Montaigne’s mission is to propose practical public policy recommendations to improve social cohesion, competitiveness and public spending in a variety of policy fields.^[1][2] Its work is based on international benchmarks and collaborations between experts from the French business community, academia, civil society and government.

Research

Institut Montaigne focuses on four main policy fields:^[3]

• Social cohesion: education, higher education, employment, equality of opportunity, lifelong learning, diversity
• Public policy: pension, justice, healthcare, environment, European issues
• Competitiveness: firms, energy, transports, SMB, digital economy, financial markets regulation
• Public finances: taxation, local finances, public spending, local authorities.

Institut Montaigne is also involved in promoting innovative democratic platforms. In 2011, the think tank led an ambitious research program under the supervision of Gilles Kepel on the suburban cities of Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil where the 2005 riots sparked. The findings were published in the book “Banlieue de la République”.^[4] This work was later completed by “Passion française”, a political essay based on a series of interviews conducted in the cities of Roubaix and Marseille to meet candidates of foreign origin who ran for the 2012 legislative elections.^[5]

Institut Montaigne feeds the public debate by providing accurate data and assessment tools. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Institut Montaigne forecasted the budgetary impact of the main candidates’ programs.^[6] A similar initiative was undertaken during the 2014 municipal campaign in France’s 10 largest cities,^[7] as well as for the 2015 regional campaign.^[8] During the 2017 presidential campaign, on top of quantitative analyses, it evaluated over 120 electoral program promises and proposals.^[9]

Institut Montaigne also developed the first serious game dedicated to public finances, allowing players to understand how budgetary and macroeconomic policies impact the French public deficit and the national debt.^[10]

Institut organizes political forums to which citizens are invited to draft new policies. For instance, in 2012, Institut Montaigne held a citizen’s conference on the French healthcare system.^[11] A representative panel of 25 participants was informed of the functioning of the healthcare system, its challenges and its issues. After a series of workshops, the panel released a report in which it stated its main policy proposals.

Activities

Institut Montaigne expresses concrete policy proposals to enhance both competitiveness and social cohesion. The ideas are conveyed through four types of publications:

• Reports, which is the work produced by dedicated taskforces
• Studies, produced by one or a group of experts
• Policy briefs, which react to current policy issues
• Books and collective works, which provide an in-depth analysis of a specific issue.

Recent publications (in English)

• A New Strategy for France in a New Arab World (August 2017)
• Syria: to End a Never-Ending War (June 2017)
• What Role for Cars in Tomorrow’s World? (June 2017)
• The Europe We Need (March 2017)
• The Circular Economy: Reconciling Economic Growth with the Environment (November 2016)
• A French Islam Is Possible (September 2016)
• Rebuilding France’s National Security (September 2016)
• Religious Discrimination in Access to Employment: a Reality (October 2015)
• Big Data and the Internet of Things: Making France a Leader in the Digital Revolution (April 2015)

Organisation

Budget and financial resources

Institut Montaigne is a non-profit organization, depending on the French law of 1901. The annual budget of Institut Montaigne’s core is ca 4.3 million euros. More than 150 companies, of all sizes and all industries, contribute every year to its operation, each one of them representing less than 2% of the total budget. About 300 legal persons also support Institut Montaigne’s procedure. Their total support represents 1% of the operating budget of Institut Montaigne.

Members (the list is current as of 18 December 2017):

• ABB France, Accuracy, ADIT, Aegis Média France, Air France-KLM, Airbus, Allen & Overy, Allianz, Alvarez & Marsal France, ArchiMed, Ardian, AT Kearney, August Debouzy avocats, AXA, Archery Strategy Consulting,
• Baker & McKenzie, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNI France and Belgium, BearingPoint, BNP Paribas, Bolloré, Boston Consulting Group, Bouygues, Groupe BPCE, Bred Banque Populaire, Brunswick,
• Caisse des dépôts et consignations, Capgemini, Carbonnier Lamaze & Rasle & Associés, Careit, Carrefour, Groupe Casino, CGI France, Chaîne Thermale du Soleil, CIS, Cisco Systems France, CNP Assurances, Cohen Amir-Aslani, Conseil Supérieur du Notariat, Crédit Agricole, Crédit foncier de France,, D’Angelin & Co, Davis Polk & Wardwell
• De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Dentsu Aegis Network, Development institute international,
• EDF, Elsan, Engie, Equancy, Électricité de France, Eurazeo, Eurostar,
• Foncière INEA
• Gaillard Partners, Gras Savoye, Groupama, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Groupe M6, Groupe Orange,
• Groupe Randstad France,
• Henner, HSBC France,
• IBM France, IFPASS, ING Bank France, INSEEC, International SOS, Ionis Education Group, ISRP
• Jalma, Jeant et Associés,
• Kantar, KPMG,
• La Banque Postale, La Parisienne Assurances, Laboratoires Servier, Lazard, Linedata Services, LIR, LivaNova, LVMH
• MACSF, Malakoff Médéric, Mazars, McKinsey & Company, Média-Participations, Mercer, Meridiam, Michelin, Microsoft France,
• Nestlé France,
• Obea, Ondra Partners,
• PAI Partners, Pierre & Vacances, Plastic Omnium
• Radiall, Raise, Ramsay Générale de Santé RATP Group, Randstad, REDEX, Renault, Rexel, Ricol, Lasteyrie et Associés, Robertson Simon, Roche, Roland Berger, Rothschild & Cie Banque,
• Sanofi, Santéclair, Schneider Electric, SGS, Servier, Siaci Saint Honoré, Sia Partners, Sier Constructeur, SNCF, SNCF reseau, Sodexo, Solvay, Stallergenes, Suez Environnement,
• Tecnet Participations, The Boston Consulting Group, TIGF, Tilder, Total S.A.
• UBS France,
• Veolia Environnement, Vinci, Vivendi, Voyageurs du monde,
• Wavestone, Wendel, WordAppeal.

References