Return to NATO worries French
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-02-14/
Return_to_NATO_worries_French.html

14 February, 2009, 12:50

President Sarkozy’s decision to bring France fully back into NATO is
making waves in French politics.
The leading opposition Socialist party has called for a debate on the
subject in the National Assembly. François Bayrou, the key centrist
candidate in the 2007 presidential elections and leader of the new
Mouvement Démocrate (MoDem) party, said:

“It is not conceivable for a major power like ours to enter the
integrated command structure and then leave again, every time the
government changes, this decision should only be taken through a vote
by referendum of the French people.”

In 1966 General de Gaulle withdrew from the integrated command
structure of NATO. His motive was that the military alliance set up
in 1949 to defend the Western Europe from the threat of a Soviet
attack did not take into account French concerns. The Americans
retained control of the key decision as to whether nuclear weapons
could be used. The General feared that in the event of an attack the
Americans would not risk nuclear war to keep the Soviets out of
France. He also argued that no European defence organisation was
possible as long as NATO existed.

In 1996, under President Chirac, France entered negotiations to
return to the integrated command but insisted on a say in the
alliance policy and certain command positions previously reserved for
American generals. His proposition was refused by the then U.S.
administration and the negotiations were dropped. It seems that by
drawing closer to the Americans especially by violently opposing
Iran’s nuclear programme and increasing the French contribution to
the war in Afghanistan, Sarkozy has succeeded with the Americans
where his predecessor failed. He has particularly asked for a greater
Europeanisation of NATO policy. However, there are voices even within
the ranks of his own UMP majority party that question the decision.
UMP leader in the French National Assembly Jean-François Copé
commenting on the Socialist request for a debate with a vote said “I
am not against a debate, but not necessarily with a vote”. He
admitted that there were “worries and hesitations on the subject” in
the UMP. There is to be a special meeting of a group of UMP members
to discuss the question.

French Deputies have already arranged to question Defence Minister
Hervé Morin and Foreign Minster Bernard Kouchner. Some members are
calling for Dominique de Villepin, President Chirac’s last Prime
Minister and fierce political rival to President Sarkozy, to be heard
as well. He is strongly opposed to France returning to the NATO
military committee. Speaking on Monday he said that joining the NATO
committee would mean that France would find itself “shrunk
diplomatically”. He added that “My position is well known. I am
against the return to the integrated command structure.” Speaking on
television he questioned “The southern hemisphere is getting
stronger. In a world that is radically changing, is this really the
moment to give the impression of freezing ourselves into a Western
European family. I think we ought to be open to the world and I
believe that the positioning of France, which is one of independence,
is vital to stability in the world.” He concluded “If tomorrow we are
fully integrated into NATO, would we be able to maintain the same
option that we took over the war in Iraq? My answer is no”.

In 2003 France joined Germany and Russia in opposing the invasion of
Iraq. Dominique de Villepin, then French Foreign Minister, made a
notable speech opposing the invasion in the United Nations Security
Council.

The decision to bring France fully back into the alliance is due to
be formally announced at the special 60th anniversary conference to
held in Strasbourg and Baden-Baden from April 3 – 5. It will be
Barack Obama’s first visit to Europe as U.S. President.