François Hollande defeats incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy
“There is no doubt that we will continue working together for Europe and being an engine for European development with the new French government,” Westerwelle said at a reception hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and the Freie Universität Berlin at the French Embassy in Berlin.
Before the official projections, representatives from politics, industry, and science had discussed the main issues of the presidential election campaign and their consequences for Europe and for Franco-German relations in front of more than 500 invited guests. The experts remained calm regarding the change of course in the austerity-driven policy of the European Union – as Hollande had promised during his campaign: “François Hollande is a pragmatic politician who is willing to compromise. He won’t jeopardize the common German-French course,“ said Claire Demesmay, the DGAP’s expert on France. Sabine von Oppeln, expert on Europe from the FU Berlin, was confident: “Now that the campaign is over, François Hollande will face political reality in Europe.”
