France Back in the Chair: Fpeu08, G8 and G20 Presidencies Compared

Abstract

French leaders have long sought to shape the rules of international governance, economic and otherwise, and the European Union is the primary and necessary conduit for the attempted exercise of such influence by French Presidents and their administrations. This paper offers an analysis of the French 'turn' in the EU Council Presidency chair between July and December 2008 (FPE08), during which the world financial crisis erupted, when President Sarkozy was very much present on the world stage in the role of 'crisis-buster' and negotiator, but when French ideas were far from exerting exclusive or even significant influence on the initial responses, from Europe, to the unfolding disaster. By way of comparison, the paper makes reference to France's subsequent roles as G8 and G20 chair at a much later point in the cycle of crisis (2011). The paper asks to what extent (and how) these fora provide credible opportunities for French leadership to exert itself on an international scale, and with what consequences at international and domestic levels.