Happy days in Europe? Not so fast, monsieur

Trump's defeat has raised hopes of a return to the happier days of transatlantic relations, but experts warn against pitching expectations too high

French don’t do restraint in displaying emotions. So, Anne Hidalgo, the fiesty mayor of Paris, let go — tweeting “America is back!” — as she watched US networks declare Joe Biden as their man of the moment and hand him the presidency. Within minutes, bigger beasts of the European establishment — French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) chief Jens Stoltenberg — were popping up across the Continent to congratulate Mr Biden, drawing comparisons with “champagne corks popping on New Year’s Eve”.

To mangle Shakespeare, it seemed