I was happy back in Lyon: I was living with my boyfriend, it was my first relationship. Then, when we broke up, my whole world started crumbling down. All of a sudden, I was heartbroken, I could not recognize myself and I could not even see myself living there any longer. I needed to go on a new adventure and start fresh, so I went to the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) and that made me want to continue work on issues of development. The break up was very difficult for me to handle, but it was needed. Should it not have happened, I would not have discovered what drives me in life. Eventually the European project helped in mending my heart. 

(Renaud works at DEVCO, the European Commission’s DG for international cooperation and development and before that was an advisor at the European Parliament.)