When General Charles de Gaulle withdrew from NATO's military command and ordered all American soldiers removed from France, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk asked him whether that included the ones in the war graves, according to Reuters. More than four decades after the bitter break-up, France is set to rejoin and clinch top command posts to match its heavy engagement in the alliance's missions. But what might have been a formality, since Paris never left the alliance's political structures, has turned into a row over France's role in the world. President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing growing opposition in his own ranks from politicians who, in an echo of de Gaulle's concerns in 1966, worry that France will lose global influence by tying itself too closely to the United States. Others say Sarkozy has failed to use full integration with NATO to strengthen European defence, as he promised. Those welcoming France's decision seem puzzled by the fuss. "The key is, does this full return of France to the NATO alliance have the consequence that Europe will become weaker ... and my opinion is 'No'," said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, looking slightly ruffled after a passionate debate with French parliamentarians. "But I have noticed that not all deputies, to put it mildly, agreed with me," he added with a smile. Sarkozy is betting that a full return to NATO will secure broader support for a joint European defence policy, soothing concerns that Europe could emerge as a rival to the alliance or suck the United States into unwanted conflicts. NATO is keen to draw on French field experience when it comes to transforming the alliance from Cold War battleaxe into a flexible force to fight new threats. But in a country that prides itself on independent diplomacy that has helped it strike business deals and make friends in the Middle East and with developing countries, Sarkozy will have to work hard to win over critics in his own UMP party. Jean-Francois Cope, the UMP floor leader in parliament, said the government might call a vote of confidence on the issue. Others have seized the opportunity to attack Sarkozy. Segolene Royal, his former Socialist presidential rival, warned that France would lock itself into a defence logic of the past by joining "the West's armed wing". Former conservative Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, an old Sarkozy foe, said France's diplomatic stature would shrink. Analysts say the return is unlikely to have such a drastic impact. After all, France is the fourth-largest contributor of troops to NATO missions from Kosovo to Afghanistan. And being in the NATO command did not stop Germany opposing the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Despite the domestic political squabbles, Sarkozy is expected to announce France's full return to NATO on April 4, the alliance's 60th anniversary. Given the state of the global economy, stretched U.S. troops and the pressing need to find solutions in Iraq and Afghanistan, there may be little time for the transatlantic rivalries that are being so hotly discussed in France. "We are so hard pressed to meet our defence commitments, there is no time for asking which organisation is on top," said Daniel Hamilton, director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. "We are at war, people are dying, and this is not the time for political games," he told Reuters. To most defence experts, closer cooperation between NATO and the EU is logical. NATO's strength lies in big military operations. Europe, with its diversity of individual states, has more expertise in areas such as law enforcement, police training or even Internet, energy and health security. NATO officials have said they want the EU to become involved in military missions beyond peacekeeping, and analysts expect to see more of the patchwork style of missions involving NATO, EU and regional forces that are currently active around the globe. France is likely to head NATO's regional command headquarters in Lisbon, in charge of the rapid-deployment NATO Response Force, and the Allied Command Transformation based in Norfolk, Virginia, placing it at the heart of NATO reforms. "If this results in a better American-European balance within NATO, then European defence has a chance," said Dominique David, head of the French Institute of International Relations. Critics argue that such cooperation could take place without French control of NATO command posts. Others are disappointed that France has not extracted more tangible results for Europe. Despite Sarkozy's pledge to use the return to strengthen European defence, the EU still lacks a military headquarters and has just two so-called "battlegroups" of about 1,500 troops each. "That's just enough to secure the airport in a civil war and evacuate our own citizens, but it's not enough to stop a big slaughter like in Rwanda or Darfur," said Markus Kaim, senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. "So the critics aren't wrong when they say France has secured a win as a nation, but not as the leading representative of European interests."
