Volume IX- Number 2
John Kenneth Maclean
Abstract: This article traces French military policy from the end of WWII to 1974 and argues that France’s shift to an independent defense policy was motivated by an initial concern for a rising Germany, the USSR’s atomic bomb detonation, and a mistrust of America’s commitment to Europe. Following the immediate creation of NATO in 1949, Paris felt secure in the face of Soviet or German aggression as Washington, the world’s sole nuclear power, pledged its support to its European allies. This feeling changed with the Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949 and the US’s involvement in the Korean war in 1950. In late 1950s, French Premier Rene Pleven proposed the creation of a European Defense Community (EDC). It was meant to use German assets without increasing Germany’s independent power. The EDC treaty was not ratified by parliament, however, because the French were unwilling to give up a large measure of their sovereignty in exchange for a limitation on German power. Thus, the French reluctantly accepted Germany’s entry into NATO in 1955 and began a secret atomic research program. The Algerian War, Suez Crisis, and crumbling 4th Republic facilitated the rise in 1958 of Charles DeGaulle, who strongly favored an independent defense policy. This view was later buttressed when the US refused to extend significant aid to France’s atomic program despite it doing so for Britain. In 1960, France’s first atomic bomb detonated, officially spawning the French nuclear force, or “force de frappe.” DeGaulle continued to strengthen ties with Germany in the early 1960s to balance against what he viewed as the unreliable US-backed NATO. In 1966, France formally withdrew from NATO, solidifying its independent defense stance. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, however, quelled France’s outspoken desire for a completely independent defense policy as it illustrated the immense threat posed by the USSR, and so France began a rapprochement with NATO and the West. While it remains uncertain if other European states will form a confederation protected by the nuclear-armed France, Western Europe’s rising uncertainty about the US commitment to the region may make it an attractive alternative.
Keywords: France, Charles DeGaulle, Military Policy, Nuclear, NATO, Soviet, Atomic Bomb
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