This American orientation also satisfies many Europeans who appreciate the German attachment to the American security guarantee and to NATO.
France remains, and will remain, a partner of choice for the United States in the fight against terrorism. This fight is not over for the US, even if it has been deprioritized. But in the Indo-Pacific, it is clear that France's military contribution has been ignored, or dismissed as irrelevant. The European reaction will tell whether the episode really convinces other Europeans of the need for strategic autonomy, or whether it confirms French isolation in Europe.
Finally, this episode points to the challenge of crafting "foreign policies for the middle classes" that are consistent among allies, when they rest above all on increasingly nationalist commercial and industrial policies. If this dimension is at the heart of American diplomacy, as Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed in a recent speech, and if the transatlantic relationship is less central to US foreign policy, do Europeans and Americans not become, above all, economic competitors? The question arises for the EU, and for the US-EU relationship, even though it was highlighted during Biden's trip to Europe last June.
Beyond that, it raises questions about the value of the struggle of the century according to Biden, this confrontation between democratic and authoritarian regimes, for which Washington intends to strengthen the links between democracies. Does AUKUS reveal a divided "West" or an isolated France? The Franco-American relationship has undoubtedly entered a turbulent zone. France is entering a presidential election year, a domestic context that the Biden administration has not taken into account. This is an ironic twist for a president who has made allies and diplomacy central to his foreign policy agenda, and who takes pride in his talent for personal diplomacy and his appreciation for his interlocutors’ political constraints.
Copyright: Brendan Smialowski / AFP
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