By Tim Shipman: 11:29 GMT, 18 May 2012
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2146089-11FC1442000005DC-174_233x423.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2146089-11FC1442000005DC-174_233x423.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>French president Francois Hollande will deliver seven snubs to David Cameron today
after the Prime Minister publicly backed his opponent Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Hollande will open up splits with Britain in key policy areas when the two leaders hold their first face-to-face meeting.
Diplomatic sources said that Mr Hollande plans to:
- Withdraw French troops from Afghanistan long before the British plan to leave.
- Abandon his predecessor Mr Sarkozy’s support for Mr Cameron’s demands to freeze the European Union budget.
- Push for a Europe-wide financial transaction tax, which will hit the City of London most severely.
- Launch a fresh bid to end Britain’s EU budget rebate won by Margaret Thatcher.
- Fight harder than Mr Sarkozy did to protect France’s Common Agricultural Policy payments.
- Promote wider EU defence co-operation, including the prospect of a Euro Army long resisted by Britain.
- Argue that EU countries should abandon austerity measures to boost growth.
Mr Cameron and Mr Hollande will meet in Washington today ahead of the G8 summit at Camp David and a Nato summit in
Chicago this weekend.
Officials say the French government has noted that Mr Cameron went far further than other leaders in publicly backing
Mr Sarkozy to win the election – an act that has set back cross-Channel relations.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2146089-11FC1442000005DC-174_233x423.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2146089-11FC1442000005DC-174_233x423.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>French president Francois Hollande will deliver seven snubs to David Cameron today
after the Prime Minister publicly backed his opponent Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Hollande will open up splits with Britain in key policy areas when the two leaders hold their first face-to-face meeting.
Diplomatic sources said that Mr Hollande plans to:
- Withdraw French troops from Afghanistan long before the British plan to leave.
- Abandon his predecessor Mr Sarkozy’s support for Mr Cameron’s demands to freeze the European Union budget.
- Push for a Europe-wide financial transaction tax, which will hit the City of London most severely.
- Launch a fresh bid to end Britain’s EU budget rebate won by Margaret Thatcher.
- Fight harder than Mr Sarkozy did to protect France’s Common Agricultural Policy payments.
- Promote wider EU defence co-operation, including the prospect of a Euro Army long resisted by Britain.
- Argue that EU countries should abandon austerity measures to boost growth.
Mr Cameron and Mr Hollande will meet in Washington today ahead of the G8 summit at Camp David and a Nato summit in
Chicago this weekend.
Officials say the French government has noted that Mr Cameron went far further than other leaders in publicly backing
Mr Sarkozy to win the election – an act that has set back cross-Channel relations.
