Jean Paul Bachy is president of the regional council of Champagne-Ardenne and a former member of the French and European Parliaments. The Champagne-Ardenne region, located in the northeast of France and famous for its history and sparkling wine, was represented at the 2011 Sochi Investment Forum – where authorities boasted of their partnership with the Oryol Oblast and other Russian regions. President Bachy explained the origins and successes of these partnerships to Modern Russia.