D-Day Warmth Belies Tensions in U.S.-France Ties

By Matthew Campbell, Francois de Beaupuy and Margaret Talev Jun 3, 2014 11:13 AM ET

France is selling weapons to Russia in defiance of American efforts to isolate President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. is preparing to slap France’s largest bank with a fine that could top $10 billion. French government ministers have sought to derail General Electric Co. (GE)’s bid for France’s top energy-equipment maker.

As Barack Obama and Francois Hollande prepare to meet on a Normandy beach this week to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the relationship between the countries is getting chillier.

“We are transitioning to an era where the bilateral relationship with the Americans, and the broader EU, is looking more difficult for the French,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the head of the Europe practice at political consultancy Eurasia Group. Under former President Nicolas Sarkozy, “the French were far more relevant and effective at pressing home their points in Washington.”

The increased tensions come after a period of improvement in relations from a decade ago, when the governments of George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac clashed bitterly over the invasion of Iraq. In February, Obama gave Hollande a full state dinner -- an increasingly rare honor reserved for the most important U.S. partners.

While France and the U.S. are still working together on a range of issues, they’re drifting apart in some key areas as Hollande grapples with a stagnant economy and the rise of the anti-EU National Front, which advocates ending the transatlantic alliance. France, Europe’s second-largest economy, will be critical to progress on a proposed EU-U.S. trade deal.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-02/d-day-beach-warmth-belies-tensions-in-u-s-france-ties.html