Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...

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Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III the criticism of Russian human-rights violations, the support of the American move in both Afghanistan and Irak, and a rapprochement with Israel which ceased the unconditional and everlasting French support of the Palestinians. As outlined by Gordon, Sarkozy defined his desire of moving closer Paris to Washington in his pre-electoral book Testimony, where he “stressed his admiration for the United States and says he has “no intention of apologizing for feeling an affinity with the greatest democracy in the world” (2007). The traditional hostile US- containment of France’s foreign policy that lasted for decades seems resolutely over, at least under Sarkozy’s presidency. Even his domestic policy seems affected: “in what is seen as a reflection of pro-American sensibilities, he selected former Ambassador to Washington Jean- David Levitte to head a new National Security Council based on the White House model” (Cue, 2007). At this regard, Sarkozy’s pro-American alignment is far from being consensual domestically: several political figures still denounce his stance that betrays the profound French design of foreign policy, to the extent that a new presidential nickname popped up: “Sarko l’Américan” (Claudia & Jeffrey, n.d). On the same display of French hyper-activism in the international chessboard, Sarkozy wants to have a say in world economic forums. As outlined by The Economist, “never short in ambition, Mr. Sarkozy wants the G20 to become the forum for talks about global economic stability and governance, including exchange-rate volatility” (2010). Here, and as usual, when president Sarkozy decides to conquer new horizons, the machine de guerre is immediately launched: he undertook a world-tour dedicated to his conception of the future of the G20, being the main campaigner in favor of his, - France’s by extenso – interests, and obtained from his interlocutors the hosting of no less than two G20 summits in France in 2011. A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/ 86
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III In the same breath, the shifting of the French foreign policy followed a Bonapartist watershed: Sarkozy, like Napoleon III, is quite comfortable with the promotion of a muscular defense strategy. Obviously he did not involve (yet) France in any military conflict like the emperor who multiplied the wars during his rule, yet he shattered France’s position in that domain. The first revolution he undertook was his reconsideration of the Gaullist tradition vis a vis the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s integrated military command that lasts since 1966. As explained by Gordon, “the new French logic is that America and its Atlanticist allies in NATO will never trust or support European Union efforts to develop more defense autonomy unless France can show itself to be a loyal NATO ally” (2007). Such a move, aiming at ensuring France a privileged place within the international security and defense arena, erased the last US skepticisms about Sarkozy’s real shift of foreign policy toward more Atlanticism. Again, Sarkozy negotiated his country’s re-entry in NATO via assuring the formulation of “appealing” guarantees (such as the remaining of French military troops under his exclusive control – which means that he reserves to his approval the sending or not of troops, a margin of maneuver normally lying under NATO’s authority). In parallel, the reinforcement of the French concern vis a vis its military defense strategy was visible at the European level. As a matter of fact, Sarkozy militated actively for “an ambitious European defense agenda and the relaunch of the ESDP” (European Security and Defence Policy) via giving it a “high rhetorical priority” (Ghez & Larrabee, 2009). Subsequently, and after the international and European initiatives on defense, Sarkozy got down to the drafting of a new national White Paper on Defense and National Security “envisioned as the guiding document for French foreign and security policy over the next 15 years- to replace the 1994 version” (Hicks, 2008). Some guiding principles of this A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/ 87
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Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...

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