Published December 18, 2012
The relationship between France and Germany has long been central to the European Union. Until May of this year, conservative leaders Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, worked hand in hand making decisions for the euro zone as it stumbled through economic crises. Socialist Francois Hollande took power in France in mid-year, though, throwing the historic Franco-German relationship into question.