U.S. President Barack Obama has congratulated French President-elect Francois Hollande for his victory but warned of “challenges” ahead, likely referring to Afghanistan and the euro-zone debt crisis. Obama invited Hollande for bilateral talks at the White House later this month, ahead of a Group of Eight (G8) leaders' summit he will host at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland May 18 and 19, and a NATO summit in Chicago on May 20 and 21. In a telephone call, Obama “indicated that he looks forward to working closely with Mr. Hollande and his government on a range of shared economic and security challenges,” the White House said in a statement late Sunday. The two leaders “each reaffirmed the important and enduring alliance between the people of the United States and France,” the White House wrote.
