The latest opinion polls released ahead of France's parliamentary election on Sunday suggest President Francois Hollande will win a narrow but workable majority that depends on Green allies and hard leftists.
Despite their differences over how to drag Europe out of its current economic swamp, German and French leaders pledged to join efforts in reinvigorating growth in the continent during their first meeting on Tuesday.
An exit of Greece from the Euro zone could cost the French taxpayer up to 66.4 billion Euros and saddle the country's banking system with 20 billion Euros in lost loans, according to a study published on Tuesday.
France's economy stalled in the first quarter as household consumption flat lined, businesses pared back investment and exports slowed, underlining the challenge facing Socialist President Francois Hollande who took office on Tuesday.
French President Francois Hollande named veteran Socialist parliamentary leader and Germany-expert Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister on Tuesday, an appointment which may help smooth negotiations with Berlin on tempering austerity in Europe.
Attempts to form a government in Greece collapsed on Tuesday rattling financial markets at the prospect of extremist parties opposed to the terms of an EU bailout could sweep to victory and push the Euro zone crisis into a dangerous new phase.
Socialist Francois Hollande is to be sworn as France's president Tuesday before naming a prime minister and dashing to Germany to battle with Berlin over how to tackle Europe's debt crisis.
The European Union cannot amend agreed rules on tighter fiscal discipline despite voters' rejection of austerity policies in several countries, and France's new leader must understand this, Germany's finance minister said.
Dilma Rousseff is interested in having French elected-president Francois Holland make an official visit to Brasilia to talk about the current world situation since the Brazilian leader believes they both share positions regarding the global crisis and austerity policies.
A victorious Francois Hollande faces a short honeymoon after his election as France's first Socialist president in 17 years, with financial markets eager for clear signals on his policies and how hard he plans to push back against German-led austerity.