Keeping the Loyalty and the Freedom in Franco-American Relations

On the 50th anniversary of his death, it is useful to recall Charles De Gaulle’s idea of relations between France and the United States which is relevant for the coming years with a new American president. With Joe Biden, trans-Atlantic relations may recover their closeness after four years of Donald Trump’s unpredictable abruptness, during which all Washington’s allies could do was avoid the worst.

General De Gaulle preferred a policy that combined loyalty with the freedom to act independently in relations between France and the U.S. For example, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was one of the darkest periods of the Cold War, his support for America was immediate and unfailing. On the other hand, his 1966 Phnom Penh speech directly affirmed his opinion that American involvement in Vietnam would be endless. That same year, he made the exit of France from NATO official, describing America’s domination of it as “overwhelming.”

De Gaulle’s notion of remaining loyal to America remains necessary today; NATO needs to be overhauled, but it is still a masterpiece of geopolitical equilibrium. Freedom for France to go its own way remains necessary as well. Under Biden, American imperialism will become friendlier, but it will still be imperialism against which America’s allies will need to guard their interests. There will be a new kind of problem in conducting such a policy because, under De Gaulle, France could stand alone, whereas today it is obliged to act as part of the whole European Union. Trump had the effect of making the Europeans close ranks with each other, but with the more accommodating Biden, there will be a new temptation toward every man for himself.