France’s security culture
Cold war experiences
• Historical experiences: the war in Indochina (1946-1954) and the
war in Algeria (1955-1962)
• Philosophical underpinning of France’s foreign policies
• France/ NATO relations- 1958 de Gaulle memorandum; 1959
France withdrew its Mediterranean fleet from NATO command;
stationing of foreign nuclear weapons on French soil banned; 1962
France’s Atlantic and Channel fleets withdrawn from NATO
command; 1966- complete withdrawal from NATO integrated military
command; relocation of SHAPE
• The independent nuclear deterrent
• Autonomous defence posture
• Indigenous military procurement
• France’s participation in intra-alliance disputes
Military self-sufficiency of France and semi-detached military posture
vis-à-vis the NATO countries
Post- cold war options
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The change in the geo-strategic situation
New security threats
The US policy
New forms of warfare/ the experience of
the First Gulf War
• The Atlantic Alliance transformation
Policy transformation in the immediate
aftermath of the cold war, early 1990s
• Policies priorities towards French Western
European partners /1990-91 IGC and a common
defence policy based on WEU, Eurocorps,
European nuclear deterrent, joint procurement
projects/; the French ambiguity
• Assessments of NATO transformations: NATO
expansion, political role, NATO Rapid Reaction
Force the DPC 1991
• Bilateral relations
• Shift in defence priorities: assessment of
security threats, military budget allocation,
suspension of nuclear tests in the Pacific
Policies in the 1990s- domestic
pressures
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Constitutional arrangements
The Balladur government White Paper on defence /1993/:
The nature of the new security threats: included economic aspects
The notion of independence vs. the notion of strategic autonomy
related to its ability to deal with complex security crises
The centrality of Europe in French strategic thinking- convergence of
interests
Bilateral relations: Eurocorps and Franco-German arms agency
Rapprochement with NATO: NATO Military Committee and
participation in out of area peace enforcement operations (after Oslo
1992); NATO Council control over WEU use of NATO forces
Mitterrand’s position on the rapprochement with NATO (on the CJTF
and the French participation in NATO Military Committee) the
Balladur government