USA: US-Franco relations in the spotlight as Bush prepares for lunch with Sarkozy

A new era in Franco-American relations may be on the horizon as U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who are vacationing within miles (km) of each other in New England, plan to have lunch on Saturday (August 10, 2007). Bush and his family are spending the start of their vacation at his parents' home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush headed out to open water as soon as he arrived, while Sarkozy, who took office in May, is taking his first vacation as president in the United States on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, which is a mere 50 miles (80 km) from Kennebunkport. First lady Laura Bush invited the new first couple of France to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the Group of Eight summit in Germany in June, White House spokesman Tony Snow said on Wednesday. Snow added that the two countries could be "on the verge of a new era of relations... which is a good thing." Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, kept his distance from Bush, and relations turning chilly after Chirac's vocal opposition to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Sarkozy is only the second head of state invited by George W. Bush during his presidency to the Bush family compound on the rocky coast of Maine. Sally McNamara, a senior policy analyst in european affairs, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. calls Saturday's meeting "critically important" for both countries. "France and America are allied countries who have a very deep relationship and a very deep rooted history. I think that Chirac marked a really sad point for bilateral relations. I think what Sarkozy is trying to do is build the warmth and relationship as well as also building policy issues where they can cooperate," she said. Despite the optimistic forecast, McNamara also noted there won't be drastic changes overnight. "I think the American press is talking as if there has been another French revolution. There definitely has been a change and it is quite marked. However I don't believe that France is all of a sudden going to become America's best friend. I don't think we are going to see a revolution in French foreign policy for example, I think we are going to see some changes but there will be a lot of continuity. Chirac was a high profile anti-American if you like but the French people are also not willing to move on many questions. France is still France. I think Sarkozy can take them so far but I don't think we can expect the revolution some Americans are talking about at the moment," She said.

ITN Source | August 11, 2007

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