Call it an unwritten rite of passage. No sooner has a new leader in Paris or Berlin been sworn in than they cross the Rhine for dinner and a date. Wedged between her swearing-in and Thursday's EU summit in Brussels, Angela Merkel is in Paris. She was re-elected with 42% of the vote; impressive, but short of an outright majority. She’s now in a grand coalition with the Social Democrat opposition. What can France's Socialist president hope for from Merkel’s term, and what’s in store for Europe?

Produced and prepared by Anelise Borges, Haxie Meyers-Belkin and Cristopher Davis

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