Socialists set to form next French government but Front National may enter parliament
France’s newly elected President François Hollande can count on a Socialist-led government being elected next weekend, judging by results in the weekend’s first round of the French parliamentary election. But, for the first time for 24 years, there may be MPs from the far-right Front National (FN) in the National Assembly. READ MORE
France's Strategy
New political leaders do not invent new national strategies. Rather, they adapt enduring national strategies to the moment. On Tuesday, Francois Hollande will be inaugurated as France's president, and soon after taking the oath of office, he will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. At this moment, the talks are expected to be about austerity and the European Union, but the underlying issue remains constant: France's struggle for a dominant role in European affairs at a time of German ascendance. READ MORE
New French government takes pay cut , fights for growth in Europe
France’s new, Socialist government held its first meeting Thursday with a pay cut for the president and ministers the first item on the agenda. Ministers insisted that their top policy priority is Europe’s debt crisis. READ MORE
French election 'good for Poland'
An advisor to Poland’s president has said that the victory of Francois Hollande in the French presidential elections is a good choice “for France, Poland and Europe”. READ MORE
Merkel will welcome Hollande 'with open arms'
While Germany's opposition hopes the French Socialist victory will reflect poorly on European policies on the debt crisis and on Berlin, Angela Merkel insists on a continuation of the current course. READ MORE
Europe’s Elections and the Politics of Austerity
Francois Hollande’s election victory Sunday over Nicolas Sarkozy and the losses by Greece’s main political parties, are only the latest examples of the growing anti-austerity backlash in Europe. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, resigned last month after the populist, right-wing Freedom Party withdrew its support in opposition to a proposed €14.2 billion austerity package, which included cuts to healthcare spending and increases in the retirement age. The Dutch government has been one of the few in Europe to maintain its AAA credit rating throughout the crisis, a sign that support for fiscal tightening is endangered even in the stronger economies. READ MORE
Why did Sarkozy lose the French presidential election?
Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday failed to win reelection as president of France. He was defeated by François Hollande, who is only the second Socialist to hold the post since direct election started in 1958. READ MORE
Sarkozy and Hollande set out to woo far-right Front National Le Pen voters
As campaigning continues ahead of the 6 May run-off for French president both candidates set out on Monday to court the more than six million people who voted for the far-right Front National party of Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s first round. READ MORE
Left Hook
Before the first round of the Presidential elections is France the third place in pre-election race was firmly held by a former teacher, ex-Minister of Socialist Cabinet Lionel Jospin, and by now the leader of the Left Front Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Having left behind his not less radical rival, the leader of another front – already National one – Marine Le Pen, Mélenchon have become a real dark horse of this elections, having proved the growth of radical left spirit in French society. His last meetings in Lipp, Paris and Toulouse were ones of the most crowded and emotional, and such high result hasn’t been predicted by anyone recently. Established in 2008 from the remains of the communist party, of various left-wing supporters, and all those who considered socialists and their current candidate Francois Hollande, to be too moderate and bourgeois, the Left Front breathed a new life in the ideas, uniting the upholders of social equality. Times when French communists were forced to give into rent a part of their head-quarters due to financial shortage are fading away. READ MORE
Why France’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan is Not a Strategy
President Barack Obama’s announcement last June of an accelerated U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan reopened debates in many European countries over when their soldiers should return from that unpopular war. French President Nicolas Sarkozy followed a few days later with an announcement that French troops would be reduced “in a proportional manner and in a calendar comparable to the withdrawal of American reinforcements.” Now, the tables have turned. With last week’s announcement, it was France that reset the transition calendar, arguing that progress in the transition allowed for the withdrawal of 1,000 French troops by the end of 2012. Although many U.S., Afghan, and NATO observers were initially critical, the Obama administration announced only a few days later that the United States also planned to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013 and shift primarily to advising Afghan forces. READ MORE
