France Dives Into Gulf With Base

Nicolas Sarkozy has left the building

(NEWSER) - France today installed Socialist Francois Hollande as its new president for the next five years, replacing conservative Nicolas Sarkozy with a mandate to ease up on the austerity measures with which Europe has fought its economic crisis. Hollande, the first Socialist to have access to France's nuke codes in 17 years, promptly called for "compromise" in Germany's stripped down approach to the crisis, reports the BBC . He'll name a prime minister and fly to Berlin this afternoon to face the music—and Angela Merkel, who supported Sarkozy—there. More»

...But François Hollande might be even more simpatico with Obama administration

(NEWSER) - France's election was something of a can't-lose proposition for the Obama administration. On the one hand, the US isn't pleased to see the backside of Nicolas Sarkozy, an ally so steadfast that in France he was sometimes called "Sarko the American." Sarkozy, after all, was in lockstep with the US on Iran, Libya, and other foreign policy issues. Incoming president François Hollande isn't likely to be nearly as accommodating in that arena, the New York Times reports. More»

President-elect has a packed first 40 days

(NEWSER) - Following last night’s victory over Nicolas Sarkozy , Francois Hollande will have to jump right in to his new role—he will be sworn in as France’s president next Tuesday, the BBC notes. What does his election mean?

• Hollande has vowed to renegotiate the eurozone budget treaty Sarkozy championed along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but the German government today is trying to cut that off at the pass, calling it “not possible.”
• Though Hollande's election has fueled hope among many French hungry for jobs, economic growth, and the end of austerity, he faces the same debt problems Sarkozy did. Der Spiegel notes that Hollande knows just how tough is the job ahead of him: Rather than appearing celebratory last night, the unsmiling victor “seemed tired, weak, and overwhelmed,” the paper reports.

Says Hollande: 'Austerity can no longer be inevitable!'

(AP) - Socialist Francois Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy today to become France's next president, heralding a change in how Europe tackles its debt crisis and how France flexes its military and diplomatic muscle around the world. Crowds filled the Place de la Bastille, the iconic plaza of the French Revolution, to fete Hollande's victory, waving French, European, and labor union flags. Leftists are overjoyed to have one of their own in power for the first time since Socialist Francois Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995. More»

No clear winner emerges from bad-tempered debate

(NEWSER) - Nicolas Sarkozy and challenger Francoise Hollande traded insults in a televised debate French media called the "Last Duel" and the "Final Confrontation." The event—the pair's only debate of the election season—ran to more than three hours long and while neither presidential candidate emerged as the clear winner, viewers were left in no doubt that the two dislike each other, the BBC notes. Both men repeatedly called each other liars during the debate, which focused on the economy. More»