A return foretold

French President Nicolas Sarkozys parliamentary victory over his decision to return France to NATOs military command was expected,and Frances full reintegration into NATO foretold. But France,with a reputation for being hopelessly divided at critical junctures,saw former premiers,Gaullists,Socialists and even dissenters within Sarkozys own party campaigning against the plan. Nevertheless,neither is this a critical moment in its history nor is France hopelessly divided; more than half the public seem to back Sarkozy.

It was in March 1966 that Charles de Gaulle withdrew a lately nuclear France from the military structure of the alliance it helped create in April 1949. Fearing US domination and foreign NATO troops in France not under French command,de Gaulle threw both those troops and NATOs headquarters out of France. For four decades,France remained within NATO,as a voluntary contributor of troops the fourth-largest at present and funds,but not military strategy. But on March 12,when Sarkozy announced his decision to end the French Exception to be formalised at NATOs 60th anniversary celebrations in April little was set to change apart from the symbolic. France,anyway,has been moving back into all Nato structures gradually it sent troops to Kosovo in 1992,it rejoined the military committee in 1995 and has troops in Afghanistan.

Whether Frances return transforms NATO and vice versa in the long run will depend on future global conflict. What matters is that the debate within France has been about two opposing worldviews the Gaullist and Socialist view of French autonomy as a check on US power versus the opinion that,post-Cold War,the old French-US friction is counter-productive. Staying aloof costs more than keeping an eye on things from within; sending troops without controlling strategy does so doubly. Perhaps,Sarko the American has the mettle to brave the old orders accusation that he is selling out a proud nation that most recently defied the US on Iraq.