I'm not a lukewarm European. I know that the German-French friendship is indispensable, no matter who the countries' leaders are.

During a term in office there are highs and lows, but what counts is that the goal is set as well as the means to achieve it, and the force we put into getting results.

I know where I'm going and I have told the French. I am sure if hope is there, we will be able to put France back on its feet to live better in five years than we do today.

I won't wait until the end of my term to say I made mistakes at the beginning. That's too late. I will try to adopt the proper behaviour, if the French give me the chance, right from the start.

What the French want is coherence, stability and justice. If I am in a favorable position today, it's because my fellow citizens want to make the effort to straighten out the country, and at the same time they want it to be just and equitable.

Mitterrand had a sense for symbols, and he was the first Socialist president since 1958. He wanted to show that there is historical continuity, a connection with the great figures of French history.

A large country with such outstanding economic performance as Germany cannot forget that it owes some of its success to demand from other European countries.