French-American Foundation Weekly Brief highlights political, economic and cultural news stories related to France and French-American relations as well as trans-Atlantic and European issues.
François Hollande was sworn in as the seventh president of the Fifth Republic on Tuesday, May 15, in a traditional series of ceremonies that saw the first Socialist in 17 years and the second of the Fifth Republic enter the Elysée Palace.
France
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François Hollande was sworn in as the seventh president of the Fifth Republic on Tuesday, May 15, in a traditional series of ceremonies that saw the first Socialist in 17 years and the second of the Fifth Republic enter the Elysée Palace, The New York Times, Le Télégramme and Ouest-France reported. Hollande followed his inauguration as president of France on Tuesday, May 15, with two short homages to famed scientist Marie Curie and to Jules Ferry, the minister of public instruction from the 1880s, who instituted free, secular and obligatory education for French children, le JDD, Le Figaro and La Croix reported. A clearly political gesture to emphasize his dedication to national education, the choice by Hollande was quickly criticized, as Ferry was also a proponent of France’s colonial activities, as covered by Le Figaro and L’Express.
As a day of inaugural events drew to a close, François Hollande made official his choice for Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the once German teacher turned politician, who is the mayor of Nantes and has been President of the National Assembly’s Socialist Group for 15 years, The Telegraph, Le Nouvel Observateur and Le Figaro reported. Ayrault will join Hollande on his first diplomatic outing, as the new president was set to leave on this first day for Berlin, where he will engage in talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two nations are tasked with redefining their working relationship to address the debt crisis facing the European Union, according to the AP and the Christian Science Monitor. In addition to being a prominent Socialist and longtime confidant of Hollande, Ayrault was considered to be a fitting choice. He is a fluent German speaker and possesses a great knowledge of France’s closest partner of late, as covered by Rue 89 and the Chicago Tribune.
Young Leader Marco Vicenzino explored the challenges faced by François Hollande as he assumes the French presidency, suggesting a pragmatic approach as moves forward with Germany while striving to follow through with practices at home beyond the austerity promoted by his predecessor and new partner, Angela Merkel, in Forbes and in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
President-elect François Hollande gathered before his Socialist Party on Monday, May 14, the day before taking office, for a final campaign effort to rally Socialists for the legislative elections scheduled for June 10 and 17, as prominent figures from the Union for a Popular Movement party of departing President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that they would campaign as a team leading up to the two rounds which will determine the makeup of the National Assembly, The Wall Street Journal, Le JDD and TF1 reported. With the presidency and the Senate now belonging to the Socialist Party, a recent poll projected that the Socialist Party, with 30 percent support would see that support increase to 45.5 percent with allies on the left, compared to 32.5 percent for the UMP, according to Bloomberg. Outside parties once again made headlines this week, as the third and fourth place candidates from the presidential first round – Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front and Jean-Luc Mélénchon of the Left Party – were set to face off in the northern department of Pas-de-Calais, as covered by Europe1 and Le Point.
French drug maker Servier went on trial in Nanterre on Monday, May 14, for deceiving patients and authorities about the effects of Mediator, a diabetes drug frequently prescribed for weight loss that is believed to have been responsible for at least 500 deaths since 1976, Reuters and TF1 reported. The drug was taken off the market in France in 2009 after being discovered to thicken heart valves, but it had already been banned in a number of countries – including Spain, Italy and the United States – nearly a decade before, according to Le Monde.
United States
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After Vice President Joe Biden and several members of his government expressed their views, President Barack Obama said in a television interview aired Thursday, May 10, that he supported same-sex marriage after previously stating that his stance on the position was “evolving,” 20 Minutes, the Chicago Tribune and Le Nouvel Observateur. As Obama headed to New York on Monday, May 14, where campaign events, television appearances and a graduation speech at Barnard College would all include a focus on the controversial statement, a new Gallup poll showed that 54 percent of Americans find same-sex marriage “acceptable” with 63 percent supporting the legality of such marriages, according to CNN and the LA Times.
The United States conducted air strikes in Yemen on Thursday, May 10. The Pentagon announced it was sending additional troops there based on additional information revealed two days after the White House confirmed that the potential suicide bomber arrested the week before had ties to the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda, the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, TF1 reported. The release of details about the suspected bomber, such as he held a British passport, has created tension between intelligence services in the United Kingdom and the United States, as covered by the Guardian.
Ron Paul, the last primary contender standing between Mitt Romney and the Republican Party’s nomination to face off with President Barack Obama in November’s presidential elections, announced on Monday, May 14, that he would no longer spend resources to campaign in upcoming primaries but would only send supporters to state conventions to pick up delegates to the Republican National Convention in August, le Monde, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported. Despite being in fourth place with only 104 delegates, Paul raised more money than all other contenders except Romney and has had an impact by congregating the Republican Party’s libertarian faction, as covered by Le Nouvel Observateur and The LA Times.
President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker congratulated the Afghan government on Sunday, May 13, as the nations announced that Afghanistan and NATO were entering Phase or Tranche III, which will see Afghan security forces take over control in 75 percent of the nation, Le Figaro, ABC and NPR reported. While the two sides celebrated the transition of power, violence in Afghanistan continued, as two bombings on Thursday, May 10, and Monday, May 14, left more than a dozen dead, as covered by The Washington Post.
Business & Economics
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JP Morgan Chase disclosed on Thursday, May 10, that the bank, which had emerged from the financial crisis as the nation’s largest, had suffered a $2-billion trading loss, leading immediately to an SEC investigation, executive departures and heightened calls by politicians for regulation of the financial sector, The New York Times and the LA Times reported. On Monday, May 14, the bank announced that Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew was retiring as the bank’s shares dropped 2 percent after a 9-percent loss on Friday, May 11, according to Le Figaro, Libération and The Wall Street Journal.
The European Commission warned several nations, notably Spain and France, that they would not be able to meet their budget-deficit goals for 2012. It urged those nations to increase their efforts to cut deficits as hampered growth across the continent was accompanied by heightened concerns about Greece and its recent political turmoil, proving worrisome to European officials and markets alike, Reuters and Le Point reported. The Commission projected that Europe was on the road to stability, predicting that the GDP of only one nation – Spain – would decline in 2013, and despite recession status for seven nations expected for 2012, according to the Economic Times and Les Echos.
At a fiscal summit in Washington on Tuesday, May 15, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner is expected to warn that any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by spending cuts, The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported. A similar declaration last year led to the summer’s budget standoff between Congressional Republicans and Democrats. It is estimated that the United States may reach its $16.394-trillion debt ceiling before the year is out.
Facebook is set to make its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, May 18, as the company raised its predicted opening price range from the previously stated $28-35 to $34-38 late on Monday, May 14, leading analysts to predict the company would be valued at $104 billion as the social-media giant trades publicly for the first time since its creation in 2004, La Tribune and Le Monde reported. As Facebook prepares for its IPO, investors and users alike have voiced skepticism about the highly valued company, as various polls showed that three of ten investors founds the opening price fair, while another showed that 58 percent of investors say it is overvalued, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor.
International
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Greek President Karolos Papoulias said he would meet with leaders from three parties on Tuesday, May 15, in hopes of forming a coalition government after a proposal to form a government run by technocrats failed to reach a resolution on Monday, May 14. The nation struggles to form a government by Thursday, May 17, when it would be required to call new elections, CNN and Les Echos reported. Polls suggest that if a new round of elections were called, the far-left Syriza, which came in second in the initial elections on May 6, could take the most votes and further the nation’s rejection of austerity measures, furthering speculation that Greece could leave the EuroZone, as covered by Al-Jazeera. By Friday, May 11, Socialist Party leader Evangelos Venizelos became the third politician in the week to fail to form a coalition government, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia saw German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union’s popularity drop considerably receiving only 26 percent of the vote in Germany’s most populous Land. Approval of the Social Democratic Party grew to more than 39 percent as Merkel’s ongoing efforts to implement austerity in both her own nation and across the European Union seem to be costing her party support at home, The Financial Times, Le Point and Le Monde reported. The Guardian and Libération explored the campaign led by the SDP and regional President Hannelore Kraft, who has fought against austerity to bring the left back into power in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Palestinian and Israeli officials announced on Monday, May 14, that hundreds of Palestinian prisoners had agreed that day to end a hunger strike that had lasted for weeks after Israel agreed to improve conditions of the prisoners and limit detention of prisoners without trial, TIME reported. The hunger strike, in which more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners had taken part for at least 28 days, was ended in the deal brokered by Egyptian officials, according to Le Figaro.
Preliminary results for legislative elections in Algeria showed that a coalition between President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s National Liberation Front party and Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia’s National Democratic Rally gained 62 percent of seats, while Islamist parties gained only 12 percent of seats, making it the first nation since the start of the Arab Spring in which Islamist parties have diminished, according to Le Figaro, Le Point and The Wall Street Journal.