PeSCo: The French Perspective

Europe usually assumes that Paris has a clear view and consistent purpose set out for EU defence. As in any self-respecting democracy however, the French position represents a hard-won compromise between its own national disagreements, which PeSCo merely brings into relief. Although these ideological tug-of-wars are seldom perceived as such outside of France, they do have tangible effects.

The first is that French priorities do not flow from some god-given, quasi-teleological blueprint for European defence: they can, and do, fluctuate across time. The second is that they can, and do, fluctuate across national administrations. The third is that they will not always, therefore, make for a clear position. The fourth is that they will accordingly create a number of routine misunderstandings with France’s closest European allies – the latest in date revolving around the European Intervention Initiative, and the wider-ranging notion of strategic autonomy.

France’s conflicted attitude towards PeSCo is born out of two major different lines of thinking. They are tricky to pin down because they do not run strictly along administrative lines. They cannot be said to boil down to different foreign policy doctrines, each complete with their own fixed checklist of strategic priorities – nor are they explained away by a split between realists and idealists. In fact they derive less from a strategic doctrine than a strategic disposition: a way of viewing the world and of addressing the problems it throws up…