This week's American turmoil, seen through allies' eyes

For American politics, it’s been a week for the ages: a bungled start to the 2020 presidential primary season, a State of Union speech with partisanship on full display and a conclusion to the most contentious chapter of all — the nation’s third-ever impeachment trial.

Watching all this from afar are allies, foes and those who have looked to the United States for stability. Here, from AP correspondents in four regions, is a look at how some key American allies are eyeing the 2020 U.S. election and the jumbled months that precede it — whether in the hope that Donald Trump's Republican presidency continues for a second term or that a Democrat returns to the White House.

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FRANCE

It's safe to say that many in France are viewing the U.S. election through their own prism — four years during which one of the world’s oldest international alliances has been bashed around.

“Since President Trump’s arrival, we’ve felt a considerable distance with dear America,” says Jacques Mistral, a French former prime ministerial and government economics adviser and former financial affairs adviser at the French Embassy in Washington. “He has alienated everybody.”

Famously muscular white-knuckle handshakes between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have served as metaphors for a difficult, turbulent relationship. On issues that are dear to Macron — notably battling climate change and trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons — there have been sharp divergences. The experience of losing the White House’s ear on such key issues has been somewhat humbling for France, showing how little it can get done alone on the international stage if Washington is opposed.

“If the United States put all their weight behind not doing something, then there...