France and Germany – so far apart and yet so close There is no alternative to the Franco-German tandem by Cyrille Schott, former director of the National Institute for Advanced Security and Justice Studies (INHESJ), member of EuroDéfense France, Strasbourg, and Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris
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hen the new French President was elected in 2017, the German weekly Der Spiegel devoted its front page to him, with the title “Teurer Freund”, “dear friend”, in the sense of “expensive friend”, and this comment: “Emmanuel Macron saves Europe... and Germany must pay.”1 Years before on 24th July 2013, the French daily Newspaper Le Monde published an article entitled “Germany, an egoist economic power”, a theme taken up by the weekly Le Point on 28th September 2021, in a free opinion “Let’s get out of the illusion of the Franco-German couple”, with a subtitle “German egoism.” “Farness” and “closeness” are indeed features of the Franco-German relationship.
World policy versus economic policy France, proud of its seat on the UN Security Council, its nuclear force, its expedition-experienced armed forces, the influence due to its language and its history as the nation of Enlightenment, Revolution and Human Rights, looks to the vast world. France has a special view toward Africa and thanks to its ultramarine territories – its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with nearly 11 million km² under total jurisdiction is missing only a few km² to the United States’ EEZ – France has interest in all oceans and has a special view toward Africa. Germany, only a nation-state since 1871, had there after a turbulent history, shaped by the 12 years of Hitler’s murderous dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. Today it is an advanced
photo: Elisabeht, stock.adobe.com
++ EU Presidency +++
democracy, deeply anchored in the population. Its foreign policy is oriented towards the continent, especially central and eastern Europe, where its interests are historically based. Proud of the reconstruction of their country from ruins at the end of the Second World War, Germans are still working to find cohesion among their population after the reunification in 1990 of the separated country. They believe in the strength of their economy with strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the Mittelstand as the backbone of German economy, much envied in France. This Mittelstand allows Germany to be one of the world’s leading exporting powers. Germans see themselves as the main industrial nation of Europe and praise the “Made in Germany”. The trade relations between France and Germany show an important imbalance, detrimental to the first. The same applies to the employment situation. But there are French capabilities balancing these lacks. For example, French demography is more dynamic with a younger population. The banking system is stronger, and the country has long coasts along the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Germans are easily irritated by the claims of France sometimes ironically called “the Great Nation”, unable to put its accounts in order. The French on their side like to criticise, together with some other Europeans countries, the German economic policy, considered as short-sighted, not using its budgetary capacities and drawing the benefits of the single market and the euro zone without thinking of returning to other countries.
→ Continued on page 10 1 ”Emmanuel Macron rettet Europa... und Deutschland soll zahlen”, Der Spiegel, 13.5.2017.
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