On July 1, France took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union. The Eiffel Tower was lit up to honour the occasion, but the numerous issues on the agenda of the French presidency indicate that the next six months will be more rough than sparkly. The priorities of the Champs Elysees, namely climate change and energy, agriculture, defence, immigration and Mediterranean policy, might well be overshadowed by the efforts to keep ratification of the Lisbon Treaty on track.