![]() "Therefore, the balance of power between the USA and Europe will be re-established within this French move. "There will be more European weight in the way decisions will be made," said Louis Giscard d'Estaing, a member of the National Assembly's U.S. The president's allies calculate Sarkozy's move will strengthen Europe's hand on defense issues. "With this decision, France will return as a subordinate country and will lose its ability to represent another image in the world," said Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a member of the French National Assembly. They started a last-minute petition drive to stop his march back into NATO. Opponents of Sarkozy's move - who include some members of his party - believe de Gaulle, not Sarkozy, had it right. Half of all French troops outside the country are assigned to NATO military operations. While France was still not a part of the military command, it contributed troops and funding to NATO activities, including actions in Kosovo and Afghanistan. In 1995, France rejoined NATO's military committee, which advises NATO's political authorities on military policy and strategy and provides guidance on military matters to NATO's strategic commanders. Meanwhile, the European nations felt the United States was trying to dominate the organization, according to NATO.ĭe Gaulle's 1966 decision meant no French forces could be under permanent allied command and that France would have no participation in defense planning. ![]() analysts warned that if the European allies failed to increase their contributions to the alliance, they risked losing the support of the United States, according to NATO. One diplomat believes that if France did have a special case. Rejoining NATO's military command, he argued, will give France a seat at the table for decision-making.įrom its earliest years, the organization's trans-Atlantic ties were strained because U.S. France rejoined Nato to mark the alliances 60th birthday summit at Strasbourg on 3-4. Sarkozy, however, believes the opposite - that cooperation in NATO is a guarantee of French independence.
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