For over a year, rumors and news reports have swirled about stubbornly-chilly relations between the presidents of France and the United States. But with the French presidential couple enjoying a private dinner in the White House with the Obama’s, things seem to have changed. According to Le Figaro columnist Pierre Rousselin, the reason can be summed up in a word: pragmatism.
For Le Figaro, Pierre Rousselin writes in part:
Barack Obama has already shown the purpose of the visit. By inviting the French presidential couple to dine, in the evening, in his private apartment, he has dispensed with protocol, wanting to forget the Elysée Palace lunch that he inelegantly dodged during his visit last summer to Paris. In this way, President Obama seeks to put an end to rumors of a misunderstanding between the two men.
In the context of increasing difficulty in the Middle East and the priority issue of a nuclear Iran, France and the United States should stand together. It’s the same when it comes to strengthening global governance, confronting the financial crisis and in regard to relations with Moscow or Beijing.
The moment has come in Obama’s term at which he’s no longer setting the table, but needs to achieve results. Therefore, it’s time to count his allies. … The two men haven’t changed – but the circumstances have. It’s no longer a time for assessment, but for action.”
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