Hollande Signals Return of France as Complicated Ally for West
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Following a president once nicknamed “Sarko the American,” Francois Hollande is set to resume the traditional role of French leaders: annoying their allies.
Hollande, who made Nicolas Sarkozy a one-term president yesterday, has promised to speed France’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and questioned the return to NATO’s command structure engineered by Sarkozy. He is picking fights with Germany’s Angela Merkel over debt-crisis politics.