It seemed he just needed an economic program to tackle the recession that hit the European zone; also, France should not have meddled in the Libyan war that was doomed to failure; and….the list of blunders would be too long. However, the thing is that France will just the same face hardships in overcoming the crisis with its newly elected head, and it may lose its lead in the EU. Though Hollande’s first presidential visit targeted Germany, his negotiations with Angela Merkel failed to yield the results the German Chancellor expected to see.

The new French president has yet to pass the “exam” of the G8 Summit, with the economic crisis in Europe as its top agenda. For François Hollande, this summit in U.S. president’s residence will be first event of the kind. Hollande gained a win mostly because of his electoral pledges to abandon the tough policy of economy his predecessor Sarkozy pursued, and move to a new policy aiming for economic growth.

Hollande will hardly follow in Sarkozy’s footsteps who provided full support to U.S. on Iran and Pakistan, let alone Libya and maybe also Syria. Furthermore, during his presidential campaign Hollande declared he will withdraw the French troops from Afghanistan by end of 2012.

Actually, Hollande will try to dispel his anti-American image during his visit to U.S. The new French leader is said to be keen to confirm his commitment to “strong partnership” between France and U.S.

Observers claim that the trans-Atlantic ties will now come to feature strategic issues and economic crisis problems rather that the ideology. In addition, the G8 summit agenda will bring to the spotlight the Syrian crisis, in which Hollande has not yet moved away from Sarkozy’s government.

In Camp David, the developed industrial countries will reaffirm their support to UN initiatives and observing mission, as well as press Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev, according to Le Figaro.

“If Russia persists in assisting Bashar Assad, it may pay for this with Caucasus,” the paper says.

Iran’s nuclear program will become the indicator of the French-U.S. partnership; diplomats believe that Paris that has so far focused on sanctions may now show larger adherence to a dialogue Washington is calling for.

As to Turkey, the stance is yet unclear. It is worth reminding that Hollande's major supporters who voted for him are the immigrants who expect increase in social payments, along with free entry to France. Another sore point in Turkish-French relations is the bill on criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial; Sarkozy did not sign it because of the Constitutional Court ruling.

During his electoral campaign, Hollande gained support of the Armenian community pledging to submit a revised bill to the parliament, in line with requirements of the Constitutional Court.

The bill criminalizing genocide denial refers not only to the Turks but all those who deny this fact, French Ambassador to Turkey Laurent Bili said.

“President Hollande will submit a new bill, in full compliance with the French Constitution,” the ambassador emphasized.

At the same time, he reaffirmed France’s willingness to improve ties with Turkey in all spheres. However, it is still unclear, what (or who) will pay for this improvement.