Europe: France
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
After his inauguration in May 2007 as France's sixth president under the Fifth Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy focused his first months in office on improving the performance of France's economy through liberalization of labor markets, higher education, and taxes. In the April 22, 2007 first round of presidential elections, Sarkozy, the leader of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, placed first; Socialist candidate Segolene Royal placed second; centrist Francois Bayrou placed third; and extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen placed fourth out of a field of 12 candidates. Sarkozy prevailed in the May 6, 2007 second round, defeating Royal by a 53.06% to 46.94% margin. Royal's loss marked the third straight defeat for the Socialist candidate in presidential elections.
President Sarkozy assumed office on May 16, 2007, the last day of Jacques Chirac's official term. Sarkozy named Francois Fillon Prime Minister. Jean-Louis Borloo became the second-highest ranking figure in the government, presiding over an expanded Ministry of Environment, renamed the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Planning. Legislative elections held on June 10 and 17, 2007 gave the UMP a large parliamentary majority. The UMP reinforced its ascendance over the Socialists by winning the June 7, 2009 European Parliament election with 27.88% of the vote, an increase of more than 11 percentage points over 2004. The Socialists finished a distant second, in a virtual tie with Europe Ecology, the French Green party. TheThe UMP’s next test comes in spring 2010, when French voters will elect local leadership for the 22 regions of mainland France and four additional overseas regions.
In electing Nicolas Sarkozy, French voters endorsed the wide-ranging program of reforms--including market-oriented social and economic reforms--that were the focal point of his campaign, implicitly giving him the green light to try and implement these reforms quickly, and allowing a way forward for overcoming France's 2005 rejection of the EU constitutional treaty. By embracing a figure long tagged as "pro-American," French voters also expressed their desire to renew trust in the U.S.-France relationship. During the campaign Sarkozy often ended his stump speeches--evoking Martin Luther King--by calling for a "French dream" of social equality, social mobility, and equal opportunity, and his first speech as President-elect assured his "American friends" that they could rely on France's friendship.
During his first year and a half in office, Sarkozy eliminated income taxes on overtime hours, lengthened the contribution period for retirees to receive full pensions, and established a "minimum service" requirement on strike days, among other reforms. He also completed a major revision of the French constitution, which gave parliament more oversight responsibility, particularly with respect to approval of long-term French military deployments abroad. French and EU analysts stress that longer-term reform measures must focus on reducing the future burden of ballooning public pension and health care budgets, as well as reducing labor-related taxes. Against a backdrop of gloomy economic news starting in late 2008, Sarkozy appears to have placed his reform agenda on a temporary hiatus. Despite low public approval ratings, however, President Sarkozy is governing at a time when the main opposition, the Socialist Party (PS), is fragmented and in the minority in both houses of parliament.
U.S.-FRENCH RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and France are active and friendly. Mutual visits by high-level officials are conducted frequently. Bilateral contact at the cabinet level has traditionally been active. France and the United States share common values and have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues. Differences are discussed frankly and have not generally been allowed to impair the pattern of close cooperation that characterizes relations between the two countries.
France is one of NATO's top five troop contributors. The French support NATO modernization efforts and are leading contributors to the NATO Response Force (NRF). France is keen to build European defense capabilities, including through the development of EU battle-group sized force packages and joint European military production initiatives. President Sarkozy supports development of a European defense that complements and reinforces NATO, which remains at the core of transatlantic security. The President has underscored the French commitment to complete NATO's mission in Afghanistan, where some 2,800 French troops currently serve. In June 2008 Paris hosted the successful Afghanistan Support Conference, where international donors pledged a total of $21 billion to help develop Afghan infrastructure and to combat drugs, violence, and poverty.
France is a close partner with the U.S. in the war on terror. It cooperates with the U.S. to monitor and disrupt terrorist groups and has processed numerous U.S. requests for information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. French intelligence and security officials continue to actively investigate and prosecute cases of extremism. The French judiciary in December 2007 tried and convicted five French former Guantanamo detainees on terrorism charges. France is a strong partner in multiple non-proliferation fora and is a key participant in the Proliferation Security Initiative. As one of the P5+1 powers and as a leader of the EU, France is working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
France opposed the use of force in Iraq in March 2003 and did not join the U.S.-led coalition that liberated the country from the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. Despite differences over Iraq, the U.S. and France continue to cooperate closely on many issues, most notably in combating terrorism, efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and on regional problems, including in Africa, Lebanon, and Kosovo. On Iraq, the French agreed to generous debt relief for Iraq in Paris Club negotiations and have accepted the establishment of a NATO training mission there. President Sarkozy travelled to Baghdad in February 2009, turning the page in France’s relations with Iraq.
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France fully supports U.S. engagement in the peace process and President Sarkozy has called upon Israelis and Palestinians to make 2009 “the year of peace.” He has repeatedly emphasized his admiration of Israel and support for its security balanced with calls for Israel's full respect of commitments under the Middle East roadmap with respect to settlements and restrictions on Palestinian movement within the occupied territories. France hosted a donors’ conference for the Palestinian Authority in December 2007 and President Sarkozy was active in developing a ceasefire during the Gaza fighting at the end of 2008.
The U.S. and France have worked closely to support a sovereign and independent Lebanon, free of Syrian domination. The U.S. and France co-sponsored in September 2004 UNSCR 1559, which called for full withdrawal of Syrian forces, a free and fair electoral process, and disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. In the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, the U.S. and France reiterated calls for a full, immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and security services from Lebanon. France also co-sponsored UNSCR 1701 and was one of the leading countries in Europe working to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 by committing 2,000 troops to UNIFIL-plus. Strong French backing led to adoption of UNSCR 1757 establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute the perpetrators of the Hariri assassination and other killings of critics of Syria's interference in Lebanon. French efforts in Lebanon are focused on maintaining stability and promoting national reconciliation consistent with relevant UNSCRs. President Sarkozy's decision to pursue a rapprochement with Syria following the Doha accord to end fighting in Lebanon in 2008 is also reportedly contingent upon good-faith Syrian efforts to normalize relations with Lebanon; the two exchanged ambassadors in 2009.
Trade and investment between the U.S. and France are strong. On average, over $1 billion in commercial transactions including sales of U.S. and French foreign affiliates take place every day, with the U.S. being France's eighth-ranked supplier and its eighth-largest customer. France ranks as the United States' eighth trading partner for total goods (imports and exports). There are approximately 2,300 French subsidiaries in the U.S. that provide more than 520,000 jobs and that generate an estimated $235 billion in turnover. The U.S. is the top destination for French investments worldwide. Concurrently, the U.S. is the largest foreign investor in France, employing over 650,000 French citizens with aggregate investment estimated at $75 billion in 2008.
