PARIS (Reuters) – A chill has settled over the Rhine seven months after the election of Socialist French President Francois Hollande, reshuffling the cards in Europe's perpetual power game. The cooling of traditionally close Franco-German relations was partly an intentional step by Hollande to demonstrate that he is not in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's pocket but wants to change the policy direction of the European Union. It also reflects a fraught process of rebalancing power to accommodate Germany's greater political heft and economic clout. …

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-franco-german-chill-reshuffles-cards-europe-065828922.html

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