François Hollande’s Message to Americans

Americans, or at least their media, have taken a real interest in the French presidential campaign. Following a similar article in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times published an article today that bashes Nicolas Sarkozy for taking the “low road” by trying to fish for extreme-right voters.

The daily newspaper contends that the French president, who certainly has some achievements (the “pension reform” and Libya), could have chosen to lead a “more elevated” campaign, especially since his main opponent, François Hollande, only “has vague ideas and unrealistic economic proposals…”

For the moment, the news articles are essentially dedicated to Nicolas Sarkozy’s troubles, to France’s “culture wars” (on halal meat, unlike in the United States where such wars have been focused on the issue of abortion) and to Marine Le Pen, who is just like her father…

In the United States, François Hollande has not yet been entitled to long portrayals or interviews, such as the one recently published in Spiegel. So, to introduce himself to the American people, the candidate asked his friend, the President of the Senate, Jean-Pierre Bel, to make contact with the Americans and to help spread his message while on a trip to New York City and Washington.

Jean-Pierre Bel met with John Kerry, John McCain and Dick Durbin, one of Barack Obama’s good friends. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu even took him inside the Senate chamber, which is a rare privilege.

Jean-Pierre Bel had never been to the United States. After meeting so many people, he felt reassured that Americans “are not concerned about a possible change of power in France.” The Americans only posed questions about how the G-8 and NATO summits would proceed.

If François Hollande wins the French presidential election’s second round on May 6 and takes the oath on May 17, he will just have enough time to jump on a plane for Camp David the following day, after first stopping by Berlin.

The Obama administration (which has earned a reputation for its “control freak” tendencies) hates unpredictability and would hate even more for a newcomer to disturb the currently cordial Franco-American relations, especially regarding Afghanistan, just a few months before the American elections. Obama’s advisors have declared that, indeed, Nicolas Sarkozy had had the right to withdraw the French forces from Afghanistan early. Nonetheless, they expressed irritation over the fact that he negotiated the early withdrawal independently with Karzai and presented it as part of the alliance’s global strategy.

The president of the French Senate reassured the Americans that François Hollande “wishes that our meetings here take place in the best possible way.” Bel added, “We are not here to ruffle any feathers.”*

*Editor’s note: the original quotation, accurately translated, cannot be verified.