Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 7, April 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
France to rejoin NATO integrated command
President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on March 1 that France will re-join the integrated command structure of NATO and become a full partner with its Atlantic allies. On March 17, after a bitter debate, the move was approved 329 to 238 by the National Assembly. And, on March 19, Sarkozy wrote to the Alliance’s Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, announcing the French decision. This is expected to be formally approved at NATO’s 60th Anniversary Summit on April 3 and 4.
Four decades after President Charles de Gaulle’s decision in 1966 to withdraw France from the military structure of NATO (in which the country remained a political member), Sarkozy said on March 1 that the time had come for France to play a leading role once more. He told an audience of military officers, officials and defence experts in Paris that “The moment has come to put an end to this situation because it is in the interests of France and of Europe to do so.”
Sarkozy noted that, ever since 1966, France had been moving closer to playing a full role in NATO’s missions and committees. “In ending this long process,” he said, “France will be stronger and more influential. Why? Because those who are absent are always in the wrong. Because France must be a joint leader rather than submit to others. Because we must be there where decisions and norms are decided, rather than waiting to be told about them. Once we have returned,” he added, “we will retake our proper place in all the major Allied commands.”
Sarkozy made one caveat, however, saying that France would continue to keep its independent nuclear deterrent outside NATO. He argued that, since the United States and Britain have done the same, this did not represent an exclusion from the Alliance.
On a purely military level, not much will change. France has long played a major role in NATO military operations, fielding troops under allied command in Bosnia, Kosovo and now Afghanistan, where Paris has deployed some 3,300 troops. In practical terms, France’s return will see French staff officers take charge of the Lisbon Command, where NATO’s Rapid Reaction Force is headquartered, as well as the key NATO Transformation Command, in Norfolk, Virginia. At the same time, the number of French personnel attached to allied headquarters will increase from 100 to about 900.
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