The French-American Foundation Weekly Brief

France

Le Point reported the rapprochement in the Socialist leadership following the extremely close intraparty elections and disagreements at the Congress of Reims. Ségolène Royal and Martine Aubry have “buried the hatchet,” according to La Presse Canadienne, and about a dozen “Royalists” will become part of the party’s national leadership, said TF1. L’Express reported that Royal said she was “willing” to take an official leadership position in the party: “If one is given to me, that’s fine. If it’s not, that’s fine as well.”

Royal traveled to Guadeloupe, reported Le Monde, to attend the negotiations over minimum wages in the small overseas territory. La Tribune pointed out that while negotiators in Guadeloupe have reached an agreement in principle, the situation in Martinique remains tense. La Vie des idées described the history of “social citizenship” in French overseas territories.

Reuters reported that France will provide €2.5 billion in state aid to the two newly merged banks Écureuil and Banque Populaire. The nomination of François Perol to lead the new bank has been denounced by some as a conflict of interest, as he is currently an aide at the Elysée palace, according to Le Monde. Martine Aubry, head of the Socialist Party, called the choice “shocking.” French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted that an ethics committee had examined the nomination beforehand and that there was “no problem” with the choice.

France Today described the record breaking auction of the Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Bergé art and furniture collection at the Grand Palais in Paris, with the first night of sales bringing in approximately $266 million. The Chinese government condemned what it called the illegal auction of two bronze artifacts that it claims were looted from a Chinese palace 150 years ago, according to the Straits Times.

See also:
– Institut Montaigne: Measuring the quality of French health care.
– Voice of America: French court releases former Guantanamo detainees.

United States

President Barack Obama delivered an address to a joint session of Congress, reproduced here by the Los Angeles Times. The president spoke primarily on economic issues in a speech that Le Nouvel Observateur described as “historic.” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal delivered the Republican response, and Philippe Antoine of RTL explained at his blog how the Obama-Jindal dynamic is an example of “indifférence positive.”

The International Herald Tribune explained that the Obama administration is rethinking democracy-building as a goal of U.S. foreign policy. Following the president’s visit to Canada last week, Real Clear World looked back on the 10 most important presidential visits. As of this writing, the president was expected to announce that the majority of U.S. combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by 2010.

Challenges noted that Gary Locke, former governor of Washington state, has been tapped by the Obama administration for commerce secretary. RFI noted that Locke, who is the son of Chinese immigrants, is a specialist in Chinese-American business relations.

Agence France Presse reported that Obama outlined his first budget this week, noting that it creates a $634 billion fund to expand health care.  France Info noted that the deficit could reach $1.7 trillion in 2009.

See also:
– Forbes: H1-B visas, why America shouldn’t seek to “hire American.”
– TIME: The re-regulation of American finance.

Business and Economy

Leaders of European G20 countries met in Berlin this week, where they set the priority of rooting out “tax havens” and “financial black boxes,” according to Le Figaro.  Les Echos noted that their call for greater regulation was echoed by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank. Leaders also called for a doubling of contributions to the International Monetary Fund, according to the Boston Globe.

The New York Times described the unique challenges faced by French oil company Total as it expands its operations into the Arabian Peninsula.

The Wall Street Journal looked at investment in Africa by Persian Gulf states, which provide an alternative to China as a source of foreign direct investment.

Governments are “at the bedside” of banks around the world, according to Le Figaro, which summarized national efforts to prop up ailing financial institutions.

The International Herald Tribune described the “dance around nationalization” for banking giant Citigroup and looked at what the repercussions would be for state ownership of the U.S. banking giant. Boursier.com described the “stress tests” that authorities are planning to appraise the health of U.S. financial institutions.

The Financial Times wrote that after a 22-year pause in Italy’s nuclear development, Electricité de France and Enel of Italy are developing a joint effort to build a new reactor. Eurotopics.net provided press reaction to the nuclear initiative from around Europe. The Christian Science Monitor noted that Italy is joining a growing list of countries that are once again embracing nuclear power, including Germany, Slovakia, and Bulgaria.

See also:
– OECD Observer: Lessons from the past 50 years.
– Project Syndicate: Unfreezing credit.

International

According to Haaretz, France will soon dispatch a senior emissary to Iran for talks with officials on the country’s nuclear program. French Defense Minister Hervé Morin, speaking in the United Arab Emirates, said that “France insists that Iran plays the transparency card, cooperates internationally to make its nuclear energy program clear.”

Emirates Business 24/7 reported that a French military base to be established in the United Arab Emirates will become operational in May. The Associated Press noted that the Emirates signed over $817 million in defense contracts at an arms and defense show in Abu Dhabi.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO H.E. Kurt Volker spoke to the Centre for European Policy Studies this week on the role of NATO in the age of Obama, encouraging the United States and Europe to closely collaborate to deal with the new security environment. At the Atlantic Community, Yasser Abumuailek argued that the alliance has the capability to become the global leader in combating terrorism. In the Financial Times, Karl Kaiser and Dominique Moïsi said that “Europe needs a stronger France inside NATO.” The Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique will sponsor a conference on France, European Defense, and NATO in March in Paris.

The Christian Science Monitor said that although France and Germany initially opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, they are now seeking investments in the slowly stabilizing country.

See also:
– Daily Star: Who lost Turkey?
– Guardian: Timothy Garton Ash and the “fraying” of Europe.

The views expressed in the preceding press coverage are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the French-American Foundation nor its directors, officers, employees or representatives.

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