Sarkozy mirrors my own hopes

As I may have indicated before on this blog, I am an unashamed Francophile. I have never shared the sentiments of some of my fellow citizens, based partly on distorted war time accounts and the views of some of our red-top 'little England' newspapers, that the French are cowardly, deceitful, hostile and most of all, anti-British. I have spent many a delightful holiday across the Channel and found nothing but kindness and friendship wherever I have gone. Of course the French are different, as the Germans are different, and the Americans for that matter, not merely in their customs and style but in their attitudes to the world.

There have been times in our mutual history when Britain and France have been at loggerheads, most recently we fell out over Iraq, but that situation is largely behind us now and its time to look to the future. Sometimes we have even been at each others throats, but we are now at a point in our history which reflects the mood of France's President Nicolas Sarkozy in his hope that Britain and France can move from 'a position of cordiality to a state of friendship'.



There will be some reactionary elements on both sides of the Channel who view this idea with suspicion but it really is time that any lingering coolness disappeared. Sarkozy is genuine but, of course, he has an agenda but it is an agenda with which I agree. Unfortunately he might have to convince Gordon Brown. Sarkozy is prepared to put France back in to NATO, from which it was withdrawn by President de Gaulle over 40 years ago. This is a giant step for Sarkozy, and a risky one, because there are many in France who see NATO as an American puppet organisation with which they want no truck.

He wants, in return, a guarantee of senior positions for French officers - understandable as France, along with Britain, is the biggest military power in Europe. He also wants - and here I concur enthusiastically and Gordon Brown does not - a British committment to a European Defence Force, outside NATO, which is completely independent of American involvement. Sarkozy is concerned -as am I - that too close a military tie to US interests actually handicaps the ability of the European Union states to act as peacemakers and handicaps their development as a self sufficient union of states capable of a political and military voice in the world.

The current American administration has been very hostile to a European Defence Force over which America had no overseeing role, though that may change after the November election. Gordon Brown, though, like his predecessor, is very strongly pro the Atlantic alliance and will not do anything to jeopardise Britain's relationship with the United States.




It's understandable, given the strength of US/British relations but I think it's wrong to be so deferential . Brown may be wise to wait until next year to see what wind is blowing from the White House, and, having heard McCain last night, I believe even if the Republicans win there might be a fresh air blowing through US foreign policy with regard to the US stepping back a little from this stranglehold it currently exerts on its allies. But then Brown should move, regardless of American attitudes, and, along with Sarkozy and Merkel of Germany, push hard for an American acceptance of an EDF.

But, on the main thrust of Sarkozy's message, I think the British PM should grasp it with both hands. Let's try and put stupid Anglo-French squabbling behind us and move into a future where all the states of the EU are genuine friends not merely neighbours of convenience.