Hollande Pushes Investment In Greece

French President François Hollande, visiting Athens during a media blackout and a day ahead of a general strike against austerity, gave his support to the harsh conditions he opposes in his own country and said he wanted more French companies to take a chance and invest.
The Socialist leader said he supports the Conservative-led coalition of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, which is facing growing social unrest over more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions demanded by international lenders in return for $325 billion in two bailout packages.
In his first official trip to Athens, Hollande met with Samaras and said that Greece’s austerity efforts haven’t been in vain despite pushing the economy into a sixth straight year of recession and lifting unemployment to a staggering 27%—the highest jobless rate in Europe.
“I came to Greece to express to the Greek people the support of France, and the trust that we want to show in the government’s steps in recent months. We should give Greece every possibility and opportunity to achieve its goals,” said Hollande, the Wall Street Journal reported. “I have come here to mobilize French companies to make investments in Greece,” said Hollande. “We have to strengthen their presence.”
Some French companies don’t see it that way. Last year three major French businesses left Greece, unable to sustain themselves during the country’s crushing economic crisis. They included French banking giants Credit Agricole and Societe Generale and the retail conglomerate Carrefour.
The French leader is viewed by the Greek public as sympathetic to the country’s plight, while France has generally been more supportive of maintaining Greece’s place in the Eurozone.  “The visit by President Hollande is a very welcome development as it indicates that one of the two major centers of economic and political power in Europe – the other is Germany – is well disposed towards very stringent efforts to prevent Greece from leaving the Eurozone,” Theodore Couloumbis, professor emeritus at the University of Athens, told the newspaper.
The two leaders discussed Greece’s privatization plans and investment opportunities for French companies in the Greek economy, particularly in the areas of energy, construction, transportation and defense. They presided over a signing ceremony for a bilateral agreement aimed at boosting the number of French tourists heading to Greece, while French civil servants are advising Greece on reforms and creating a national land registry.
Towards the end of the visit, however, state TV workers resumed full coverage after a court ruled their action illegal, forcing the main POESY journalists’ union to call it off, but it said it would join the general strike, according to union head Giorgos Savvidis, the newspaper Kathimerini reported.
Media unions have been protesting firings and pension and benefit cuts among other issues. Hundreds of journalists in the private sector frequently go unpaid for months at a time. Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou was peeved that Greek journalists walked out during Hollande’s visit and blamed the major opposition party Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) for instigating it.
“The journalists’ union leadership succumbed to the usual party aims and SYRIZA plan to cause a media blackout during the visit of French President Francois Hollande,” he said in a statement, adding that the opposition party “does not hesitate to damage the country’s international image.”
Accompanied by a group of businessmen, Hollande spoke to a joint gathering of French and Greek business leaders after meeting with the heads of the Greek government’s coalition partners, Evangelos Venizelos of the PASOK Socialists and Democratic Left chief Fotis Kouvelis.