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A8    WORLD NEWS
                     Tuesday 16 May 2017

                   France: President Macron names PM, meets with Merkel


            By SYLVIE CORBET             Pen in the May 7 presiden-   Union, to take the right de-  France,  he  said,  “is  today   to  come  neither  from  the
            GEIR MOULSON                 tial  runoff,  and  now  they   cisions together.”        the only big country in the   mainstream  left  nor  the
            Associated Press             hope  that  Macron  can      The  28-nation  EU  faces    European  Union  that,  for   right parties.
            BERLIN  (AP)  —  French      deliver  the  economic  up-  complex divorce proceed-     more  than  30  years,  has   Philippe,  the  mayor  of
            President  Emmanuel  Ma-     turn  that  his  predecessors   ings with Britain, its current   not succeeded in beating   the  Normandy  port  of  Le
            cron  hit  the  ground  run-  couldn’t.                   No. 2 economy. When Brit-    the  problem  of  mass  un-  Havre,  is  a  trained  lawyer
            ning Monday on his first full   Macron  is  the  conserva-  ain leaves the bloc in 2019,   employment.”             and  an  author  of  political
            day  in  office  by  naming   tive Merkel’s fourth French   France  will  be  the  EU’s   Macron   also   declared   thrillers. He is a member of
            a  prime  minister  from  the                                                                                       the  Republicans,  a  main-
            center-right and then flying                                                                                        stream-right  party  whose
            to Germany, where he and                                                                                            candidate Macron beat in
            Chancellor  Angela  Merkel                                                                                          the first round of the elec-
            pledged  to  work  together                                                                                         tion. Philippe could possibly
            to undertake European re-                                                                                           attract  other  Republicans
            forms.                                                                                                              to  Macron’s  cause.  Alain
            At  home,  Macron  started                                                                                          Juppe,  a  former  prime
            to  shape  his  government                                                                                          minister, called Philippe “a
            by  appointing  relatively                                                                                          man  of  great  talent”  with
            little-known  lawmaker  Ed-                                                                                         “all the qualities to handle
            ouard  Philippe,  46,  as  his                                                                                      the  difficult  job.”Macron
            prime  minister.  That  made                                                                                        also is siphoning off support
            good  on  a  promise  to  re-                                                                                       from lawmakers on the left.
            populate  French  politics                                                                                          At  least  24  Socialists  are
            with  new  faces  and  rein-                                                                                        now  campaigning  for  re-
            forced  the  generational                                                                                           election under the banner
            shift  under  Macron,  who                                                                                          of  Macron’s  Republic  on
            at  39  is  France’s  youngest                                                                                      the Move party.
            president.                                                                                                          Merkel wished Macron luck
            Then,  a  large  crowd  out-                                                                                        in the legislative elections.
            side  the  chancellery  wel-                                                                                        She  held  out  the  possibil-
            comed  Macron  to  Berlin,                                                                                          ity  of  deep  reform  to  the
            with  some  waving  Euro-                                                                                           19-nation  eurozone  if  it  is
            pean  Union  flags.  Macron                                                                                         deemed  necessary,  say-
            and Merkel were all smiles   New French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wave to   ing  she’s  prepared  to  talk
            inside,  and  the  German    journalists at the chancellery in Berlin Monday, May 15, 2017, during the first foreign trip of Macron   about  changes  to  the  EU
                                         after his inauguration the day before.
            leader  declared  that  “Eu-                                                       (Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP)  treaties  —  a  cumbersome
            rope  will  only  do  well  if                                                                                      and  politically  risky  pro-
            there  is  a  strong  France,   president in nearly 12 years   only member with nuclear   there  needs  to  be  “a  Eu-  cess.
            and  I  am  committed  to    as  chancellor.  Some  me-   weapons  and  a  perma-      rope  that  protects  our    “First  we  need  to  work  on
            that.”                       dia have dubbed the pair     nent seat on the U.N. Secu-  citizens  better.”  Together   what we want to do, and
            Germany      and    France   “Merkron”  —  a  reference   rity Council.                with Germany, he said, he    then if it turns out it needs
            have traditionally been the   to  the  “Merkozy”  moniker   Macron  made  clear  his   wants to work on “a com-     treaty  changes,  then  we
            motor of European integra-   used for Merkel and Nico-    determination to tackle his   mon road map for the Eu-    —  or  at  least  I  —  will  be
            tion,  but  the  relationship   las  Sarkozy,  France’s  con-  country’s problems.     ropean Union and the eu-     prepared to do that,” she
            has  become  increasingly    servative leader from 2007-  “The  French  agenda  will   rozone.”                     said.  European  countries
            lopsided in recent years as   12.                         be  an  agenda  of  reform   Macron  faces  his  first  big   must  not  dig  in  their  heels
            France struggled economi-    Merkel called for “new dy-   in  the  coming  months,     test  next  month  in  legisla-  and say changes can nev-
            cally.                       namism”  in  the  countries’   in  economic,  social  and   tive  elections  that  will  de-  er  be  made,  she  added,
            German     leaders    were   relationship.  She  said  she   educational  terms,”  he   termine how far he is able   as “a European Union that
            hugely  relieved  by  the  in-  was “aware of the respon-  said. “Not because Europe   to  advance  his  reform     behaves this way would be
            dependent  centrist’s  rout   sibility,  at  a  very  critical   requests  it,  but  because   agenda. He is the first presi-  vulnerable from every cor-
            of  far-right  rival  Marine  Le   moment  for  the  European   France needs it.”      dent  of  modern  France     ner of the world.” q
                 Back to the drawing board: Dutch govt coalition talks fail



            By MIKE CORDER               poverty in North Africa and  “We  all  tried  to  bring  to-  the  right-wing,  anti-Islam,  He  could  replace  the
            Associated Press             the Middle East.             gether  an  almost  impos-   anti-immigration   populist  Green  Left  party  at  the
            THE  HAGUE,  Netherlands  The       behind-closed-doors  sible  combination,”  said  whose  party  is  the  second  negotiating  table  with  the
            (AP) — Dutch talks on form-  negotiations   were    be-   Green  Left  leader  Jesse  largest in the Dutch Parlia-  small,  faith-based  party
            ing  a  four-party  govern-  tween  election  winner  the  Klaver.  “Today,  it  turned  ment’s lower house, called  Christian Union.
            ment  coalition  collapsed  People’s Party for Freedom  out  that  the  differences  the  collapse  “very  good  A coalition of Rutte’s VVD,
            Monday  over  differences  and  Democracy,  or  VVD,  were too great.”                 news.”  He said his Party for  the  Christian  Democrats,
            on migration policy.         led  by  Prime  Minister  Mark  Rutte’s VVD and the Chris-  Freedom is “fully available”  D66 and the Christian Union
            Migration  policy  was  one  Rutte,  the  Christian  Demo-  tian Democrats both advo-  to join any future coalition-  would  have  a  one-seat
            of  the  most  divisive  issues  crats, the centrist D66 par-  cated  a  tough  migration  building talks.          majority with 76 seats in the
            in the March parliamentary  ty  and  pro-environment  policy in the latest election  However,  Rutte  and  other  150-seat lower house.
            vote, as the Netherlands  —  Green Left party.            campaign while the Green  mainstream  party  leaders  Dutch  lawmakers  will  likely
            along  with  other  wealthy  “The four parties in the end  Left wanted a more gener-   have repeatedly said they  debate about the govern-
            Western  European  nations  could not bridge the differ-  ous approach toward peo-     will not work with Wilders.  ment  formation  process
            — grappled with how best  ences on migration policy,”  ple fleeing war and repres-     Rutte will now have to start  before a new round of talks
            to cope with the stream of  Rutte  told  reporters  in  The  sion.                     the  hunt  for  new  possible  is scheduled.q
            migrants  fleeing  war  and  Hague                        In  a  tweet,  Geert  Wilders,  coalition partners.
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