The conventional wisdom is that under the Obama administration, the transatlantic relationship will flourish anew, along with a substantial improvement of French-US relations. On 3 April, the 60th Anniversary Summit of Nato on the French-German border at Strasbourg and Kehl is slated to be the crowning point of the new rapprochement. It would be hard not to improve on George W Bush’s abysmal legacy; furthermore, Obama and Sarkozy appear to get along well, personally and politically. However, it is not going to be as easy as many expect, and for a simple reason: what is most important for Obama is not what is most important for Sarkozy.