France and the United States are currently going through one of the most serious crises in their history. To protest against the loss of the contract of the century, France has recalled its ambassador to Washington and this is a first.
The recall of an ambassador for “consultation” in diplomatic language, it is a message to say that one is not happy at all. It is extremely rare between allies and in this case it had never happened between France and the United States in 240 years of shared history. Proof that France is really furious at having been bitten by the Americans, this contract for the sale of a submarine to Australia.
France is however the oldest ally of the United States, it is the almost official name. There is not an American president who has not used this formula to talk about France. Richard Nixon had said it to Georges Pompidou: “You are our oldest ally and our oldest friend”.
Georges Bush had said so to Jacques Chirac when he was the first foreign president to visit New York the day after the September 11 attacks. Barack Obama brought the formula back to Nicolas Sarkozy, who was happy to be nicknamed “Sarko the American”. In fact the American authorities have two ready-made formulas: Great Britain is the best ally, France is the oldest ally.
An alliance dating back to 1781
A title which corresponds to a historical reality: France is the country which came to help them during the war of independence against the English. 44,000 French soldiers, including the young Marquis de Lafayette, took part in the decisive battle of YorkTown in 1781.
At the time, the founding father of the United States Benjamin Franklin said that all free men have two countries, “theirs and France”. Which is one of the finest tributes ever paid to our country.
The history of Franco-American relations is also the history of the two world wars. And the Americans who came to save us twice. In 1917, General Pershing landed in Boulogne and was then welcomed as a hero in Paris. The Americans send 2 million soldiers who change the war, they are going to have about 100,000 dead.
And then of course the landing of 44. Again 2 million young Americans come to fight in France. 22,000 dead in a few days to liberate Europe from Nazism.
All of this creates links. When you ask Americans which countries they feel closest to. They respond, (2017 poll): Canada, Great Britain, Australia and France. In fourth position, first non-English speaking country. France arrives ahead of Ireland, Italy and Germany.
Conversely, according to a 2014 Ifop poll, we ask the French who our best ally is. Answer: Germany, just ahead of the United States. There is therefore a proximity, a special relationship which gives relief to the current crisis.
The last crisis dates back to 2003
But this is not the first crisis between Paris and Washington. In 1944, Washington planned to place France under provisional military administration. An American general would have ruled France as a sort of colony. It took de Gaulle’s character and authority for the United States to finally recognize his provisional government.
In the 1960s, de Gaulle, again, decided to leave NATO’s integrated command, that is to say to give France back its military independence. At the time, 70,000 American soldiers were still in France and they packed their bags.
Finally, the latest crisis to date is the refusal of Jacques Chirac to participate in the war in Iraq in 2003. When Dominique de Villepin, at the UN, stood up to the Americans, in the name of an old country which experienced wars and barbarism, and therefore refused to participate in this American war.
American opinion had lived it very badly. We had experienced an unprecedented French bashing. It was 18 years ago, it was the last big crisis between the old allies, the last before the Australian submarine affair.
–
