Hillary personally delivered a copy of her memoir, Hard Choices, to French President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace in Paris today.
Posted in Hard Choices, Hard Choices Book Tour, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Uncategorized, tagged Book Tour, Elysee Palace, François Hollande, France, Hard Choices, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Paris on July 8, 2014| 5 Comments »
Hillary personally delivered a copy of her memoir, Hard Choices, to French President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace in Paris today.
Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Images, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Elysee Palace, Foreign Policy, François Hollande, France, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laurent Fabius, Paria, Secretary of State, State Department, Syria, U.S. Department of State on July 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Many here will remember that when Libya was boiling over in March, 2011, Mme. Secretary visited Paris twice in a week (with trips in between to Cairo and Tunis). On March 19, her second visit, she greeted then-President Sarkozy triumphal in having convinced President Obama to cooperate in establishing a no-fly zone over Libya: Hillary Clinton à Paris : Chapitre Deux.
Reminiscent of those scenes in the courtyard of the Elysée Palace, was her greeting there today from new French President François Hollande and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius while yet another Arab nation faces crisis. She is in Paris participating in a meeting of Foreign Ministers at the Friends of the Syrian People initiative.
Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Blair House, Foreign Policy, François Hollande, France, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laurent Fabius, Pierre Moscovici, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on May 18, 2012| 32 Comments »
There is no text to accompany these photos, but we all have been eager to see the new French officials with whom our girl will be interacting in the months to come. We see her here at Blair House with French President Francois Hollande, her new counterpart, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, and French Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade Minister Pierre Moscovici.
Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Alain Juppe, Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Policy, François Hollande, France, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nicholas Sarkozy, Russia, Secretary of State, Sergei Lavrov, State Department, U.S. Department of State, Vladimir Putin on May 7, 2012| 6 Comments »
We loved Nicholas Sarkozy in the role of Prince Charming when our gorgeous Cinderella lost her slipper on the steps of the Elysee Palace once-upon-a-time.
Last month she clearly charmed French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on a visit to Paris.
It is all history now as a new French government prepares to step to the fore under Socialist François Hollande. We will watch with interest as our intrepid SOS greets the new leadership. We expect to see smart power on steroids in the coming weeks.
Hollande defeats Sarkozy in French presidential election
Top story: Francois Hollande beat French President Nicolas Sarkozy with just over 51 percent of the vote in a runoff election on Sunday, becoming the first Socialist to win the presidency since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995. Sarkozy, the first French president since 1981 to not win a second term, will officially transfer power to Hollande on May 15.
Meanwhile, on the Russian front. he-man superstar Vladimir Putin has reclaimed his former post as president.
Vladimir Putin Sworn In For Third Term As Russia’s President
By LYNN BERRY 05/07/12 07:48 AM ET
MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin took the oath of office in a brief but regal Kremlin ceremony on Monday, while on the streets outside thousands of helmeted riot police prevented hundreds of demonstrators from protesting his return to the presidency.
Putin, 59, has ruled Russia since 2000, first as president and then during the past four years as prime minister. The new, now six-year term will keep him in power until 2018, with the option of running for a fourth term.
Four years ago, when Dmitri Medvedev stepped into the presidency, there was speculation that he was a placeholder for Putin. Those whispers have never died down. We see her here with Putin at a meeting at his residence in Russia which had not been scheduled but which she requested.
We can reasonably expect that aside from dealing anew with Putin, Mme. Secretary will continue her successful working relationship with Sergei Lavrov whom we do not expect to see replaced and with whom she successfully hammered out the New START Treaty.
So, at least as far as Russia is concerned, plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose.