Macron, Aachen and the Ghost of de Gaulle

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/frances-macron-decries-nato-brain-death-ahead-of-anniversary/

Already there are cracks appearing in the 2019 Aachen Treaty which was signed by France and Germany in the former Carolingian capital.

Charlemagne's Frankish Empire ruled over lands that would later be split into the regions France, Burgundy and the German lands. Burgundy would at times become a powerful state but ultimately crumbled and was parceled into the Low Countries and divided (with no little contention) between Germany and France.

And yet after World War II, Paris and Berlin were determined to avoid war and their historic enmity. The EU was supposed to unite all of Europe and while the union still exists and there is peace, there are signs of weakness. France and Germany have taken steps to forge an even closer union between their nations. This union can be interpreted variously as an EU within the EU or as a prudent step to guard against coming fragmentation. A collapsed EU (and perhaps an obsolete or defunct NATO) will breed chaos and rekindle historical fires. And yet regardless of whatever happens, the Aachen bloc is determined to remain united. The ghosts of history and war may haunt the rest of Europe but not France and Germany.

At least that's the plan.

However, there are other historical forces at work. In stages from the late 1950's to 1966, Charles de Gaulle took France out of the NATO command structure and many people believe he was targeted for these and other actions Washington and its allies deemed unacceptable. The OAS which opposed de Gaulle on the basis of his Algeria policy was known to have collaborated with the CIA in opposing him. Born in Franco's Spain, the Far-Right paramilitary organisation (which was also comprised of former Vichy figures) attempted more than once to assassinate the French general and leader of the wartime resistance.

De Gaulle steered France onto a different course, opposing both the United States and the UK. Still very much a part of Europe, post-war France rejected the American narrative regarding its claims to Classical Liberalism and its Atlanticist leadership of that heritage.

Many French leaders and intellectuals viewed American democracy as a farce and America as an enemy of the Liberal values of the Revolution.

Under de Gaulle France sought to offer an alternative to the American dominated Atlanticist paradigm. France sought diplomatic relations with the USSR and certainly had a different take on US actions in Indochina, American nuclear doctrine and even questions regarding the larger Francophone (post-colonial) world.

An ally to the United States, but one that irritated Washington and was not granted a great deal of trust, de Gaulle forged a unique path that certainly challenged Washington's claims and aspirations.

This legacy survived more or less intact into the 2000's, when a shift began to take place. Under Nicolas Sarkozy, France seemed to embrace Atlanticism and acquiesce to the so-called indispensability of the United States. In 2008, France was brought back into the NATO command structure and Sarkozy played a large part in the US campaign to overthrow Qaddafi in 2011. Hollande, his successor was less exciting to the business community but the new French president continued Sarkozy's pro-America stance and was generally speaking well received and appreciated in Washington.

Macron who came to power in 2017 appeared to be fully on board with this new pro-American phase of French policy but over the course of the Trump administration, there have been some subtle and not-so-subtle shifts. Tensions have developed over trade and tariffs, foreign policy and general strategic goals. This has led to Macron openly declaring that NATO is 'brain dead'... a statement which could be interpreted as a criticism of the organisation and its raison d'être or specifically a criticism of the Trump administration and American leadership.

Regardless, the comment didn't go down well and startled some. No doubt those who responded negatively to the creation of the Aachen Bloc and continued talk of creating an EU military force were threatened by it. Additionally much to the ire of some in the Atlantic Establishment, Macron has sought to reach out to Russia's Vladimir Putin. While such a move would certainly mystify some in the United States or be viewed in nefarious terms, a Eurocentric (non Atlanticist) mindset provides an easy explanation. Macron realises (correctly) that Europe must establish a modus vivendi with Russia. Permanent antagonism is pointless and will harm Europe in the long term. It was only in the Cold War context of American dominated Atlanticism that such an anti-Moscow posture was even possible. With America increasingly out of the picture, Macron realises that it would be better to find a way to get along with Putin rather than increase tensions.

Additionally with Merkel as something of a lame duck, and in light of Brexit, Macron is positioning himself as the most consequential political figure on the continent, rivaled only by the maladroit and lumbering bureaucracy of Brussels. In terms of direct action, and especially in light of the Trump era, Macron is emerging as Europe's man of action and de facto leader.... a would be de Gaulle?

Things seem to be moving in that direction. Once again the result of the 2020 US presidential election will play a role in determining how these questions are answered but no one in the American Establishment wants to see France return to the era of de Gaulle.

See also:

https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2018/04/cracks-in-atlantic-wall.html