Word: mitterrand
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...deeply conservative U.S. President and a Socialist French leader with four Communists in his Cabinet to have anything good to say about each other is remarkable enough. The amiable, easygoing Reagan and the aloof, intellectual Mitterrand, moreover, could hardly be more different. Yet the Franco-American alliance is at its rosiest since Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958. "We have never seen relations so good," says a top State Department official...
Washington is especially pleased by Mitterrand's foreign policy. A staunch advocate of the Atlantic Alliance, the French President strongly supported the deployment of new U.S. missiles on European soil. He contributed 2,000 men to the Multi-National Force in Beirut (the last to depart, the French plan to withdraw this week) and dispatched some 3,000 troops to halt a Libyan-backed rebellion in Chad. The only major disagreement is on U.S. policy in Central America, which Mitterrand implicitly criticized during his speech to Congress. "Civil wars are not triggered by external influence alone, even if they...
East-West relations dominated the private talks at the White House. Arguing that Moscow now realizes that it cannot drive a wedge between the U.S. and Europe, Mitterrand urged Reagan to look for a "signal" that could lead to a dialogue with the Soviets. Reagan and Soviet Leader Konstantin Chernenko have exchanged letters over the past few weeks, but the polite missives have broken no new ground. Said a senior Administration official: "Thus far the Soviets have given no indication they are willing to resume talks...
...White House sessions, which lasted four hours, touched upon a menu of issues, including French complaints about high exchange rates and the burgeoning U.S. deficit. Despite the language barrier, the two men got along well, exchanging cheerful banter while photographers clicked away. As bulbs flashed, Mitterrand noted wryly to Reagan that "George Washington faced a much quieter life...
...Mitterrand, the eight-day visit came as a welcome break from headaches at home. Nearly three years into his seven-year term, he is the least popular French President in a quarter-century, with an approval rating in opinion polls of only 32%. Inflation chugs along at 9%, while unemployment, which stood at 6.4% when Mitterrand took office, is now 9.3%, leaving more than 2.1 million Frenchmen jobless. Over the past few months, Mitterrand has been bedeviled by protest marches and strikes by groups ranging from truckers to coal miners to civil servants...