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He may be the most unpopular president in the history of France’s Fifth Republic but a red carpet and rare honours await Francois Hollande on his first state visit to the US today. |
The three-day visit, the first of its calibre by a French leader since 1994, which comes with a glitzy dinner tomorrow at the White House, is a testament to the close ties between the US and its oldest ally.
Obama has hosted only six state dinners since taking office in 2009.
Hollande will arrive without a date after splitting from his partner, former first lady Valerie Trierweiler over revelations about his alleged liaison with actress Julie Gayet.
The leader, not the lover, will be on display - much to the disappointment of the tabloids.
But what the visit lacks for in scandal will be made up for with symbolism and ceremony.
On arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland today Hollande will be whisked off by Obama aboard Air Force One for a tour of the Virginia home of America’s francophile third president, Thomas Jefferson.
Tomorrow, he will be received with full military honours when he arrives at the White House for talks with Obama.
The visit comes as Hollande’s approval ratings plumb new historic lows, as he struggles to extricate France from a six-year crisis while the US, German and British economies power ahead.
Two polls published this week gave the Socialist leader between 19 and 23% support among voters.
Like Obama, Hollande prefers to takes the long view.
“A great nation can go through setbacks, but what makes it a great nation is that it can become a leader again very quickly,” he told Time magazine in a recent interview, citing New York’s transformation from a “dirty and violent” city in the 1970s to the world’s second-richest city.
What was needed, he said, was a shorter lag between bust and boom. Instead of “Yes we can”, France’s motto should be “Yes we can faster” he said, borrowing Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan.
Analysts say that can-do attitude is more in evidence in Hollande’s foreign policy that on the economy.
While Obama has baulked at military adventurism Hollande has deployed troops in two African hotspots - Mali and the Central African Republic.
He was also the only leader to pledge to join the US in strikes against Syria’s regime before Damascus agreed to give up its chemical weapons.
In the end the US opted for a face-saving deal with Russia.
Hollande’s advisers have said he harbours no resentment over the denouement of the Syria standoff.
Relations between Obama and Hollande are described as “excellent”, with last year’s revelations about mass US spying on French and other European citizens dismissed as a mere “irritant”.
Hollande told Time the snooping had created “a difficult moment, not just between France and the US but also between Europe and the US” and said he would press Obama for greater co-operation on intelligence.
From the US side, Hollande is likely to be warned to toe the line on Iran.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week he had warned France it could face sanctions if French companies try to take advantage of a thaw in the West’s relations with Tehran to revive trade.
Kerry’s reprimand came after reports that a large French business delegation had visited Iran to evaluate opportunities.
Hollande is also hoping to drum up business.
On Wednesday, he will travel to California, where he, and several French executives, will meet with Google, Facebook and other leaders of the digital economy in Silicon Valley.
The US is the biggest foreign investor in France but studies show France’s image as an investment destination deteriorating sharply since Hollande came to power in 2012 and began hiking taxes on big earners and business.
US and British media have been particularly damning of his policies, with Newsweek recently itemising France’s ills in a controversial report entitled “The Fall of France”.
Hollande will attempt to dispel the doomsday prophecies by restating his shift to more business-friendly policies. - DPA