Hollande to “push” 2+6 frigates to debt-ridden Greece

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

Everything changes and everything remains the same. Politics, mentalities and interests. What if Greek children go hungry to school, pensioners dig in garbage bins for food and majority of households cannot afford heating their homes. Politics, mentalities and interests remain the same.
French  President Francois Hollande will visit Athens on tomorrow, Tuesday, with two suitcases. One suitcase one will contain fancy confetti and political paroles in form of support message to debt-ridden and austerity-hit country. The second suitcase will contain contract papers for  lucrative deals: to lease frigates to Athens.
According to French newspaper Le Figaro,  Hollande wants to suggest to Greeks a cooperation plan that will be based on leasing two FREMM multi-purpose frigates for the search of oil and natural gas reserves in the Aegean Sea.”
The plans will start with the bait of leasing two frigates and ”end up with the selling of six frigates to Greece.” (via onalert.gr)

I wouldn’t know that frigates do fossil research, but certainly Francois Hollande knows better.
According to Greek media, Greek military  has dismissed the information about frigates or other deals programs.
However, information about France and Germany promoting military sales to broke Greece is not new.  In October 2011, German Krupp sharply opposed a -what it seemed impossible at that time – frigates deal between Athens and Paris. According to media reports, the frigates would be leased free of charge for up to five years, but later Greece would have to pay 300 million euro per ship.
Business and Politics
The six-hour visit of Hollande will focus on Greece‘s privatization process, “with Athens reportedly keen for French company EDF to bid in the international tender for Greece‘s natural gas companies DEPA and DESFA.”
The Greek side defines the French visit as a “vote of confidence” towards the debt-ridden country and will seek Hollande’s support to ease procedures for the release of funding form the European Investment Bank and EU Cohesion Policy Fund. Furthermore, the Greeks will ask for “more space so the Greek economy can breathe and the austerity program will bring fruits more quickly.”
According to Greek government sources, French investors had expressed interest in the past for the Greek railways (OSE) and water companies in Athens and Thessaloniki.
Nevertheless, sources of the French President environment told Le Figaro that “the austerity treatment imposed to Greece by the Troika was tough, but the situation got better. The real devaluation has reached the real prices, allowing exports to increases.”
No media coverage
How the real situation did indeed improve, French President and Greek Prime Minister will experience first hand on Tuesday. When all Greek media will be on 24-hour strike and no coverage of the high visit will cheers the Greeks with colgate smiles, warmest handshakes and squeezing hugs.
The 24-hour general strike of the public and private sector will take place one day later.

out of fear of broader strike Hollande may bring his own baguette with…
For German, French military sales to Greece, see also here.