WASHINGTON: The White House said Monday that the alliance between France and the United States was just as strong as it had been before the election of a new Socialist president Francois Hollande.

“The alliance is as strong today as it was last week,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, after the defeat on Sunday of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was widely known for his pro-American views.

Carney said that Obama, who spoke to Hollande to congratulate him on Sunday, looked forward to welcoming the new French later to the Nato and G8 summits in the United States later this month.

There are some concerns in the United States that Hollande's opposition to austerity-led policies could lead to a new round of turmoil and uncertainty in the euro zone crisis, that could impact America's fragile recovery.

“As for the situation in Europe, as the president said just the other day, our economy continues to face some headwinds, and the euro zone crisis is one of them,” Carney said.

“European leaders have taken very significant steps towards dealing with that euro zone crisis.

“And the president and (Treasury Secretary Timothy) Geithner and others in the administration will continue to work with European leaders towards that end.”