Relations between France and NATO
Relations between France and NATO / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
France is one of the founding countries in 1949 of the Atlantic Alliance to the emergence of which it actively contributed. Since then, France has never called into question its membership of the Alliance in its dual political and military dimensions. On the other hand, it has repeatedly contested its operating methods, particularly in that they give the United States a preponderant role. Under the presidency of General de Gaulle, France asserts a desire for independence and a vision of what Europe should be which are incompatible with American hegemony within the Alliance, particularly for everything relating to nuclear and to the integration of the armed forces of member countries within a unified command. De Gaulle drew his conclusions and France left the integrated military organization of the Alliance in 1966. However, cooperation agreements between the French armed forces and NATO forces were quickly signed, which somewhat attenuated the practical significance of this exit from NATO. This cooperation was reinforTreaty of Paris by presidents Mitterrand and Chirac, until 2009 when Nicolas Sarkozy reinstated France into the unified command of NATO.
Throughout the Cold War, the Atlantic Alliance played a role in defining the political positions of the Western world towards the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries. Above all on the military level, it defines the means that member countries must provide and their doctrines of engagement. During the most serious crises, such as those in Berlin or Cuba, and more recently on the subject of Euromissiles or after the terrorist attacks of September 11, France demonstrates its Atlanticism solidarity. France's foreign policy, however, leads it to frequently disagree with American proposals, even if it means finding itself isolated within the very European countries with which it is building the European Union in parallel.
Since the 1990s, however, areas of disagreement have become less frequent and France has once again become a major contributor to the Alliance's political and military actions.