France's ‘return’ to NATO: implications for its defence policy

Abstract

President Sarkozy's decision to bring France back into NATO's integrated military structure was logical from a military standpoint, since France was heavily involved in the missions of the Alliance, without occupying the corresponding positions of responsibility. France has made major efforts to restructure its defence tool and thus, all the capabilities it will provide to NATO gives the country some legitimacy to wish a renewed Alliance, rational and credible. But so far, France still continues to support the Common Security and Defence Policy as it continues its reintegration with NATO. This article examines this seemingly contradiction in French security policy.

Keywords:

• France
• NATO
• defence policy

Notes

1. JFACC: Joint Forces Air Component Command.

2. FR MARFOR: French Maritime Force – Commandement de la force aéromaritime française de réaction rapide.

3. CRR FR: Corps de Réaction Rapide France (in English, FR RRC: French Rapid Reaction Corps).

4. At NATO's 25th anniversary summit in Ottawa, on 19 June 1974, the NAC recognised for the first time the contribution that independent nuclear forces held by certain allies could and did make to the alliance's overall deterrent strategy. A quarter century later, at its 50th anniversary summit in Washington, NATO promulgated a new ‘strategic concept’, intended to adjust alliance doctrine in light of the epic transformations in the European security environment since 1989. Nothing fundamental changed in respect of nuclear doctrine, however, nor would anything of a revisionist nature be announced at the Riga summit in 2006, or the Strasbourg–Kehl summit in 2009, even though NATO leaders at these two latter meetings did issue statements on overall alliance security policy.

5. These include the founding treaty of Wahington of 1949, the NATO agreement on status of forces (SOFA) of 1951, the Ottawa convention of 1951 on the alliance's organisational structure (including provisions for national representatives and international staff), and the agreement on SOFA in the alliance's ‘Partnership for Peace’, signed in 1995.

6. Seventeen general-officer positions will be attributed to France, but ten of these will be taken up on a rotating basis with other member-states.