Mitterrand rises to power .

The article reflects the views of author on influential works of François Mitterrand as the first socialist president of France in the Fifth Republic, and how he oversaw the Maastricht Treaty as a way to lock the emerging giant of a united Germany firmly into European partnership. Topics include support for protectionist ‘Buy America' legislation and on-shoring of manufacturing back to America; and reduced to irrelevance the once powerful French Communist Party.