Question one
The incumbent president of France (François Hollande) is a veteran leader of the socialist party since his joining the movement late 1979. In 1988, Hollande represented Correze in the national parliament of France. He contested for presidential nominations against the mother of his four children (Segolene Royal) and lost to her. In 2008, Hollande stepped down from the socialist party executive secretary due to his private affairs. Being opportunistic of the 2011 New York hotel scandal that implicated Dominique presented Hollande as the preferred presidential candidate for the socialists. His political manifesto revolved around increased taxation for the rich and employing more teachers to the existed. However, the electorates have never been satisfied with his governance because of increased unemployment, economic recession and compromised relationship with Germany over European austerity measures (BBC Reporter 1).
Question two
France stance on EU deliberations: France advocated for military action on Syria in the quest to slow or hamper Iran’s nuclear power program. The strategy to implement this idea was to get the disputing sides to dialogue and restrict possibilities of war with Russia. The contract of ship making that France depends on for the employment opportunity of its people forms the premises that compels France to establish a delicate balance between achieving its result in its relationship with Russia and the interest in the Iran nuclear power (Wong 16).
Regarding the response to fiscal crisis, France, like other EU members has continued to support crisis management in war prone zones of Syria, Turkey and at the same time establishing a delicate balance between controlling and directing Russia’s interest in the Middle East. The areas of concern to France in the EU and the measures it has put forth to enable it achieve its interests both locally and globally, especially in Africa. The turnabout of events in Ukraine exposed US weakness and that of its allies to the globe scene. This relates to military engagement, whereby France developed bilateral military forums with Russia, whose prime minister was sanctioned by US. The later compelled the formation of technological cooperation between Russia and France in military terms (Wong 23).
Regarding the fiscal crisis, France considers that Russia has the power to alleviate Iranian, Ukrainian, and Syrian economic crunch as well as restore the politics of these countries. The rationale behind retaining its relations with Russia is that it is also the largest EU exporter to Russia and it would want to empower Russia to make it feel superior in handling the underlying problems in Syria, Ukraine, and Iran.
Question three
France major concern has been the increased tension in Ukraine. Ukraine lamented that the pro-Moscow revolutionary group invaded the airport in the peninsula of Crimea causing tension to other EU members about Russian involvement in the issue. European countries such as France are worried that the situation might affect their economic and financial capacities.
France has now focused on pleading with western countries to stop fueling the conflicts between Ukraine and Russia to secure its position with the Russians. It has also engaged the EU power to intervene in the stalemate, terming it as problematic to all members of the bloc (FT Reporter 1). This saw the EU foreign minister encourage Russia to pursue diplomatic solutions over the issue and avoid bloodshed in Kiev.
Works Cited
BBC Reporter. "Profile: Francois Hollande." BBC News 15 May 2013: 1-3. Print.
FT Reporters. "EU considers effect of more Russian sanctions." Financial Times. Version 1. The financial times limited, 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d64996a0-ae01-11e3-974d-00144feab7de.html#axzz2x2nfqsVY>.
"French concern grows over Ukraine tension." - The Local. Version 1. The Local News, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.thelocal.fr/20140228/ukraine-france-eu-tension-russia>.
Wong, Reuben Yik. The Europeanization of French foreign policy: France and the EU in East Asia. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.
