From
NATO Summit
Hollande's world stage debut
Hollande speaks at a news conference in Chicago on Sunday. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer, Pool)
by efredrix on May 21, 2012 at 1:25 PM
21 May 2012 1729 GMT
Francois Hollande was elected president of France only a few weeks ago, and this week he's seizing the limelight as a new leader on the world stage. In a whirlwind first week as president, the Socialist is holding firm on two key positions that aren't exactly popular with his peers:
1. His promise to break with NATO by pulling French troops out of Afghanistan ahead of other alliance members weighed heavily on the summit in Chicago.
2. His call for pro-growth measures to juice up Europe's lagging economy overshadowed the G-8 meeting, over the weekend.
So far, it's going well.
"There was no embarrassing moment for him, despite the fact that he came right out of the election," said Dominique Moisi, a political analyst with the French Institute of International Relations. "The difficulty starts when he comes home ... but we all know there won't be any miracles."
NATO wraps up today, but Hollande isn't done yet. He'll participate in an informal European Union summit on Wednesday.
By Jamey Keaten in Chicago
by efredrix
5/21/2012 5:28:14 PM
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