WASHINGTON - The US administration has welcomed the new French government, led by Dominique de Villepin, with an almost Gallic shrug which experts say barely hides resentment over Villepin's opposition to the Iraq war.
The White House and the State Department have insisted they will have no problem working with Villepin, who as foreign minister in 2003, led the onslaught at the UN Security Council against US attempts to get international approval for its invasion of Iraq.
But the administration has also indicated that the past diplomatic battles remain etched on the memories of US officials.
"We've worked with him in the past; we will work with him in the future," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
A similar welcome came from State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. But Boucher added: "We all know that when he was foreign minister, we had a variety of actions with him, and we know him from those days."
Villepin gave a dramatic speech at the UN Security Council in January 2003 opposing the US demands for an international sanctioned invasion. He got a rare ovation in the chamber.
The new prime minister once worked at the French embassy in Washington, speaks perfect English and when he became foreign minister presented himself as a connoisseur of the United States.
But many experts say Villepin now symbolises the perceived French opposition to any US policy and question what French President Jacques Chirac was thinking when he chose his protege as the new prime minister.
According to Walter Russell Mead, a foreign policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, choosing Villepin was "probably the biggest blow to US-European relations".
"It underlines in the United States that the French government has no desire to improve the relationship, that the US relationship is not a priority for Chirac. It is seen as not a friendly choice," said Mead.
"The scars and the memories of that debate have not been forgotten," commented Robin Niblett, a specialist on Europe at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"They have been set to one side by this administration for pragmatic reasons, and because the administration doesn't want to be holding grudges," added Niblett.
"But the relationships and the personal roles that the individual people played will not be forgotten," said Niblett, who added that Villepin's appointment would not help Paris-Washington relations.
"It's not that it's going to be a problem, but it will not help the process of France and the United states playing a constructive role with each other."
Other experts say that Villepin's role will only have a limited impact as he must concentrate on domestic matters. The French prime minister "has to deal with the price of chicken, not just with glorious international things," commented Judith Kipper, a foreign affairs specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank in Washington.
Some say Washington is already looking forward to a day when Nicolas Sarkozy, an arch rival of Chirac on the French right and interior minister in the new government, has a determinant position of power in France.
While finance minister during the height of US-French tensions, Sarkozy was received twice by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell during visits to Washington.
"The interesting thing would be to see whether Sarkozy deepens his relationship with people in Washington," said Mead. "Homeland security is an issue where France and the US continue to cooperate quite well."
06/03/2005 12:17 GMT