Hollande’s Visit to Greece Signals Rising Franco-Greek Cooperation
French president Francois Hollande visited Greece last week in order to congratulate Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on a recent series of structural and financial reforms his country has undergone. Included among these reforms is the fact that Greece has successfully secured an €86 billion bailout from the IMF in August, subsequently avoiding an exit from the Eurozone. Moreover, Tsipras’s anti-bailout Syriza Party has retained a parliamentary majority after the latest round of elections in September.
Hollande’s visit also helped firmly establish an alliance between France and Greece. The two leaders were effusive in offering praise for one another; at a press conference, Tsipras saluted Hollande’s efforts to ensure that Greece still held a future in the Eurozone over the summer despite strong criticism from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Meanwhile, Hollande, in a speech in front of the Greek Parliament, has stated, “Without Greece, the European Union would not be the European Union and the Eurozone would have lost its legitimacy by losing its character.”
In addition to rhetoric and displays of diplomacy, Hollande and Tsipras addressed a number of policy initiatives which their respective countries hope to undertake. These proposals include strengthening French investments in Greece, helping Greece fight tax evasion, developing a research partnership, and discussing possible solutions to the refugee crisis.
During his visit, Hollande stressed the importance of French economic presence in Greece. Hollande noted that France has become “the fourth largest foreign investor in Greece with over a hundred companies.” A recent privatization push in Greece, valued at €50 billion and organized by the Troika (a coalition of the European Commission, European Central Bank, and IMF) as a condition of Greece’s August bailout, appears very attractive for many French companies hoping to install themselves in the country’s market. French companies such as Vinci, Alstom, Suez, Bic and Eren Groupe were all represented in the visiting French delegation and are interested in future contracts with Greece’s highways, electricity, gas, water and tourism sectors.
The French delegation also included the Ministers of Higher Education and Research, Finance, European Affairs and Culture, who helped negotiate a partnership based on Science, Higher Education, and Culture with the Greek government. Hollande dedicated an entire day to ensure the ratification of this agreement and was subsequently named Doctor Honoris Causa at the Athens University.
In exchange, Tsipras has requested the help of French experts in the fight against tax evasion. This problem has plagued Greece since its debt crisis first began, and yet Hollande’s assistance is promising considering that anti-tax evasion policies were an important part of his platform leading up to his election in 2012. A strategic partnership including fiscal and administrative reforms was signed between the two leaders on Friday, as reported by the French newspaper Liberation.
Finally, Europe’s ongoing refugee crisis was once again under the spotlight. Hollande, in an interview with the Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, focused on two central points: responsibility and solidarity. Concerning responsibility, he explained that “Greece, like Italy, needs to create the infrastructure for receiving and identifying people reaching Europe.” Hollande also stressed solidarity, stating that “Europe cannot leave Greece alone in [addressing the refugee crisis].”
Ultimately, Hollande’s visit to Greece reminds Alexis Tsipras that he still has allies in the European Union. It is important to remember, however, that the French president’s visit was not purely an act of recognition; Greece remains a strategic interest for France, and Hollande does not want to forgo the opportunities created by the latest phase of the Greek financial crisis.