‘Merci La France’: Greek deal role earns Hollande flowers in Athens
President Francois Hollande may be unpopular in France but there is a place where people are sending him thank you notes and flowers – debt-choked Greece.
"We have been receiving quite a few thank you letters, phone calls, flowers, presents. A grandmother sent a little china object asking us to send it to the President of the Republic," France’s ambassador to Greece, Jean Loup Kuhn-Delforge, said.
"One bouquet had four simple flowers with a thank you note saying: Merci la France."
The reason for this sudden popularity boost, which contrasts with widespread resentment in Greece for Germany, is France’s role in brokering a rescue deal for Greece in the early hours of Monday at a summit of eurozone leaders.
Participants in tense negotiations that led to Monday’s deal have said that French officials stepped in to play a key role over the past couple of weeks when a Grexit became a likely scenario, from advising Greece on how to draft its proposals to pushing for a deal at the EU summit. [Reuters]
