A campaign to reshape France
As the presidential race enters its final weeks, both candidates and international observers see France reclaiming its global role and relevance.
from the April 4, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
For many reasons, including its extensive diplomatic and cultural networks, and its active though quiet cooperation on international security, France brings more to the table than it may have been credited with, experts say.
While France has not participated in the Iraq war, France hosts one of the largest counterterrorism operations in Europe. Cofounded by the CIA and French intelligence services in 2002, the "Alliance Base" program in Paris – along with other French police, security, and judicial agencies – works with American intelligence services on a daily basis.
The French also take one of the toughest stands globally on nonproliferation in North Korea and Iran, earning high marks even from John Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN.
Then there is the capability of France's military, which has significant links with US forces. While many nations talk a tough international game, the French are able and willing to put boots on the ground in ways that other nations cannot.
Currently, France deploys some 12,000 troops abroad. They are in Afghanistan, in the lead position in Lebanon, and are deployed in Ivory Coast and a half-dozen other African states. (Germany, by contrast, has been unable to deploy significant military assets, for both historical and constitutional reasons.) Last month, as rumors of a spring offensive in Afghanistan by the Taliban began to surface, Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia, came to Paris for talks.
Strong cultural clout
While France's political and economic clout in the African world is arguably diminished, its cultural clout there remains strong.
France also has a unique standing in the Muslim world. President Chirac's perceived obstinacy on Iraq may have cost France greatly in the international arena. Yet his stand also earned France widespread points on the Muslim street. How and whether this translates into leverage remains unclear.
Still, "The French are important potential allies on the Middle East, on Syria and Iran," argues Axel Krause, a political commentator in Paris. "The French have more credibility in the Mideast than any other European power, by far, and at some point this could be terribly important for US foreign policy. Their clout in the Arab world far outweighs the British."
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