A quick fix for Europe, then the long fix for France

29th May 2007
By Renaud Dehousse

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President of the French Republic is widely regarded as signalling a shift in France’s European policy. In a campaign where European issues were conspicuous by their absence, Sarkozy had been by far the clearest of the main candidates to the top job as regards his plans.

A quick fix had to be found to overcome the stalemate created by the French and Dutch No to the draft constitutional treaty. Turkey, being an Asian country, had no voca…