French President Francois Hollande and US counterpart Barack Obama have issued a joint call for an “ambitious” global climate change agreement.
The call comes in an article published jointly in the Washington Post and Le Monde. The presidents requested support for a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “through concrete actions”, at a climate conference in Paris in 2015. Mr Hollande begins a state visit to the US on Monday.”We can expand the clean energy partnerships that create jobs and move us toward low-carbon growth,” the two leaders wrote in the article. “We can do more to help developing countries shift to low-carbon energy as well, and deal with rising seas and more intense storms.” The opinion piece also pointed to the two countries’ cooperation on a host of other global issues, calling it a partnership that offered “a model for international cooperation”. Ties between the two nations have warmed considerably since the days of France’s refusal to support the US-led invasion of Iraq under President George W Bush – something directly noted in the opinion piece. “A decade ago, few would have imagined our countries working so closely together in so many ways. But in recent years our alliance has transformed,” the two men wrote. With rancour over the Iraq War a fading memory, the two countries now find themselves largely in step on a wide range of issues. France’s robust military response to threats in Mali and the Central African Republic, its tough stance on Iran’s nuclear programme and Mr Hollande’s willingness to join the US in air strikes on Syria, have vaulted France to a leading position among Washington’s traditional allies. Home and abroad Francois Hollande also has more immediate domestic concerns he might hope to address with his trip. He will hope the first full state visit afforded to a French president since 1996 will bolster his dismal poll ratings, says the BBC’s Christian Fraser. Mr Hollande’s approval ratings are stuck at barely 20% and doubts persist over his ability to kick-start the French economy. It is the first state visit to the US by any head of state since the South Korean president’s in 2011. The run-up to the visit has been overshadowed by Mr Hollande’s personal situation. His long-time partner Valerie Trierweiler is not joining him after the breakdown in their relationship following accusations of an affair. The invitations to Tuesday night’s formal White House dinner had to be destroyed and re-printed in the wake of the separation. Ms Trierweiler is now reportedly vacationing on an Indian Ocean island. ‘On notice’ There may also be some awkward questions for Mr Hollande on Iran. Last week more than 100 French business executives, including delegates from oil major Total and car manufacturer Renault, travelled to Tehran, hoping to build better relations ahead of a possible easing of sanctions. It stood in sharp contrast to the tough diplomatic stance on Iran by both the US and France. US Secretary of State John Kerry warned: “The companies will be sanctioned if they sign contracts before a nuclear deal is done, and they know it. We have put them on notice.”
On Tuesday Mr Hollande and Mr Obama will hold a news conference and visit Arlington National Cemetery – in this the 70th-anniversary year of the Allied landings in Normandy during World War Two. During his time in the US, Mr Hollande will also travel to San Francisco and meet chiefs of Silicon Valley giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google. There he may face questions over his government’s desire for uniform taxation on internet companies – many of them US-based – that skirt high taxes in France. – BBC news
