France between “European” and “Atlantic”
July 14th celebrations are often an opportunity for France to put on good spectacle and project its greatness to the rest of the world, but this year the dominant image was that of France in disarray. The rule of the outside world was severe under the influence of three factors: global geopolitical developments, the failure of strategic choices, and internal problems that undermine France’s image. As soon as France was about to emerge from the crisis of reforming the pension system, riots and looting broke out following the death of the young man, Nahil, who was killed by a police officer.
Acts that provided world televisions with shocking images of a country mired in violence and became the subject of many discussions about the deep divisions of French society, which are considered unacceptable. Two canceled country visits (to the UK and Germany), what a mess! In fact, it was the choice to adopt a military-security approach above all to the country’s African politics, ignoring the societal aspects, that made France unpopular on a continent where it thought its influence was inevitable. Thus, pointing the finger at Russian “propaganda” does not absolve us from thinking about the causes of failure if we want to recover. However, the war in Ukraine removed the foundations of our country’s geopolitical DNA: by that we mean good relations with Moscow in order to expand France’s margins of maneuver and establish European strategic independence. The relations of France and the Western world with Russia are now damaged, and they will be for a long time. And while Emmanuel Macron portrayed “NATO” in a state of brain death in November 2019, the alliance is stronger than ever, and it can be said that it is the European strategic autonomy projects that are now threatened with death. As the European countries see that these projects would endanger the unity of the Western world and that only Washington’s guarantee guarantees security towards Moscow. The French position, “allied but not aligned,” is incomprehensible.
And France is forced not to draw attention, because it sinned and erred when it called for dialogue with Moscow at a time when it seems that the Baltic countries and Poland are taking the lead and seizing the initiative in Europe. Indeed, President Macron went so far as to apologize for the harshness of Jacques Chirac’s statements towards her before the Iraq war in 2003, and showed that he was more attached to the Atlantic alliance than Joe Biden by expressing support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
The fact is that France will not be able to regain a good position by practicing this kind of Atlantic bidding. And not by self-flagellation and abandoning the foundations of the Fifth Republic, France will recover, and return to the pioneering roles again. A return to the diplomacy of the Fourth Republic – the Atlantic alignment and viewing the south as a threat – will provide us with few opportunities to shine, and many opportunities to get more involved.
France is a western country, but it cannot be reduced to this strategic identity alone. It is also a global nation. And at a time when the gap between the West and “the rest” is widening and worrying, France has a role to play in order to be a bridge between the two sides, as it has done regularly since the founding of the Fifth Republic. In this regard, it can be said that the New Global Financial Compact Summit was largely successful.
However, at a time when some people want to give the illusion that the new geopolitical divide is between democracies and dictatorships, can France not re-launch the debate on expanding the UN Security Council, which is a central issue for the three BRICS democracies of South Africa, Brazil and India? Indeed, this requires that we not make our politics dependent on the pursuit of Western or European cohesion.
There is no doubt that while Washington seeks to contain China globally, France must refuse to play an auxiliary role to the United States in its struggle with Beijing for global hegemony. Instead, the Europeans and France should have their own policy toward China and defend their own interests.
Director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris.
#France #European #Atlantic