France President Francois Hollande heads to US to boost French economy

France President Francois Hollande heads to US to boost French economy

 

Paris (AFP)

 

His Excellency President Francois Hollande begins a three-day visit to the United States on Monday, as seeks to shore up business ties and revive France's stagnant economy.

 

His Excellency President Francois Hollande will be hosted for a state dinner and talks with President Barack Obama, before jetting to California to meet tech leaders.

 

Sources in the Elysee say the trip will highlight the "excellent working relationship" between the United States and France, but His Excellency President Francois Hollande will also raise a few "irritants", including concerns over the United States spying in Europe.

 

His Excellency President Francois Hollande and President Barack Obama are expected to discuss Iran's nuclear programme, Ukraine's political crisis and security concerns in Africa.

 

France has played a leading role in African security since His Excellency President Francois Hollande took office in 2012, sending troops to fight Islamist rebels in Mali and to stem unrest in the Central African Republic.

 

But much of the focus is expected to be on economic questions.

 

After a red-carpet welcome at Andrews Air Force base on Monday, His Excellency President Francois Hollande will attend a state dinner with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

On Tuesday His Excellency President Francois Hollande and President Barack Obama hold official talks at the White House followed by a joint press conference.

 

Paris and Washington have not always seen eye-to-eye, most famously when France opposed the Iraq war a decade ago, and this is the first full state visit by a French leader since 1996.

 

Some tricky issues are expected to come up, including the revelations of widespread spying by the United States National Security Agency in Europe and eavesdropping on senior officials like German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

 

But Elysee sources said His Excellency President Francois Hollande and President Barack Obama have "a good personal relationship" and are in "complete agreement on economic questions, with the accent on restarting growth and regulating finance".

 

On Tuesday His Excellency President Francois Hollande meets global financial officials, including International Monetary Fund, and lunches with the United States business executives.

 

On Wednesday he flies to Silicon Valley in San Francisco to see tech chiefs, including the heads of Google, Facebook and Twitter.

 

His talks there are likely to be prickly, after His Excellency President Francois Hollande said Thursday that tax optimisation strategies used by Internet giants are "not acceptable".

 

France, where is reportedly seeking one billion euros ($1.36 billion) in tax from Google, has repeatedly criticised fiscal strategies that funnel revenues through intermediaries registered in low-tax havens like Ireland or Luxembourg.

 

In other events, His Excellency President Francois Hollande will on Tuesday lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery and decorate six World War II veterans.

 

The visit is His Excellency President Francois Hollande second to the United States since taking office, after a meeting in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama during a G8 and NATO summit in April 2012, shortly after his election.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 10 Monday February 2014 The Roman)