Foreign policy of François Mitterrand
Encyclopedia
François Mitterrand
's foreign policy
emphasized European unity and the preservation of France's special relationships with its former colonies
in the face of "Anglo-Saxon
influence." He served as President of France for two 7-years terms, from 1981 to 1995. A part of the enacted policies was formulated in the Socialist Party
's 110 Propositions for France
, the electoral program for the 1981 presidential election
.
's interpretation of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic
, Mitterrand retained foreign affairs as part of the "reserved affairs" of the President, and particularly focused on them during the Cohabitation
with Prime minister Jacques Chirac
(1986–88).
Foreign policies were determined by several different branches of Mitterrand's government, the foreign policy advisers of the president's staff, the prime minister and his advisers, the Ministry of Defense, and certain civil servants in the Quai d'Orsay
, often with little coordination . French diplomat François Heisbourg described Mitterrand's governing style as maintaining as many options as possible until forced to pursue a particular course. However, once he made a choice he kept his ministers on a tight leash. Defense Minister
Jean-Pierre Chevènement
lost his ministry over his opposition to French participation in the First Gulf War
. Cole, Alistair. François Mitterrand: A Study in Political Leadership, 1994. Page 135.
, Mitterrand was reluctant to take action because Soviet
General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev
warned it would lead to a military coup d'état
in the Soviet Union. Mitterrand did speak in favor of reunification in July 1989.
in 1958. He spoke at the Knesset
about Israel's right to security and in favor of Palestinian state, a speech praised by diplomatic adviser Hubert Védrine
as a "masterpiece of Mitterrandian farsightedness, tact, and courage." Prior to his presidency he supported the Camp David Accords
.
As Israeli involvement in the Lebanese Civil War
grew, Mitterrand felt that Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
had lied to him about Israel's "limited aims" of the June 6 campaign in southern Lebanon
. Mitterrand condemned the Israeli siege of Beirut during the summer of 1982 and he sent French troops to secure the safe evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership and fighters from Lebanon. Mitterrand's calls for mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO went unheard for many years but, after the PLO recognized the state of Israel, Mitterrand welcomed the PLO leader, Yasir Arafat, in Paris, in May 1989.
foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), carried out on July 10, 1985. It aimed to sink the flagship
of the Greenpeace
fleet, the Rainbow Warrior
in the port of Auckland
, New Zealand
, to prevent her from interfering in a nuclear test in Moruroa
.
The scandal resulted in the resignation of the French Defence Minister Charles Hernu
, and the subject remained controversial. It was twenty years afterwards that the personal responsibility of French President François Mitterrand
was admitted.
printed newly declassified government memos and diplomatic telegrams revealing Mitterrand's support for Habyariamana's regime on July 6, 2007. The official French policy was to push Habyarimana in sharing power, while stopping Paul Kagamé
's FPR
's military advance, supported by Uganda
. On April 2, 1993, after an agreement between Habyarimana and Kagamé which prepared the August 1993 Arusha Accords
, conservative Prime minister Edouard Balladur
envisioned to send 1,000 more soldiers, a proposition accepted by Mitterrand. The documents prove that the French government was aware of ethnic cleansings committed by Hutu
s extremists as soon as February 1993, a year before the assassination of Habyarimana
which triggered a full-scale genocide.
's independence, fearing this would lead to the violent discomposition of Yugoslavia
. He advocated for a common, European recognition of Croatia, and to "suggest to Serbs
and Croats
to retain a link between themselves." He declared on 14 December 1991 to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
newspaper : "We don't have any interest that Europe explodes in a thousand pieces."
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
's foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
emphasized European unity and the preservation of France's special relationships with its former colonies
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
in the face of "Anglo-Saxon
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
influence." He served as President of France for two 7-years terms, from 1981 to 1995. A part of the enacted policies was formulated in the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
's 110 Propositions for France
110 Propositions for France
110 Propositions for France was the name of the Socialist Party's program for the 1981 presidential election during which the Socialist Party's candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected by 51.76% of the people...
, the electoral program for the 1981 presidential election
French presidential election, 1981
The French presidential election of 1981 took place on 10 May 1981, giving the presidency of France to François Mitterrand, the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic....
.
Mitterrand's style
Pursuing Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's interpretation of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
, Mitterrand retained foreign affairs as part of the "reserved affairs" of the President, and particularly focused on them during the Cohabitation
Cohabitation (government)
Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France's system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier that will be acceptable to the...
with Prime minister Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
(1986–88).
Foreign policies were determined by several different branches of Mitterrand's government, the foreign policy advisers of the president's staff, the prime minister and his advisers, the Ministry of Defense, and certain civil servants in the Quai d'Orsay
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is...
, often with little coordination . French diplomat François Heisbourg described Mitterrand's governing style as maintaining as many options as possible until forced to pursue a particular course. However, once he made a choice he kept his ministers on a tight leash. Defense Minister
Minister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....
Jean-Pierre Chevènement
Jean-Pierre Chevènement
Jean-Pierre Chevènement is a French politician. He was Minister of Defense from 1988 to 1991 and Minister of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 and since 2008 has been a member of the Senate....
lost his ministry over his opposition to French participation in the First Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. Cole, Alistair. François Mitterrand: A Study in Political Leadership, 1994. Page 135.
Germany
While he supported German reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, Mitterrand was reluctant to take action because Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
warned it would lead to a military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in the Soviet Union. Mitterrand did speak in favor of reunification in July 1989.
Israel
In March 1982 Mitterrand became the first French President to visit Israel since the founding of the Fifth RepublicFrench Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
in 1958. He spoke at the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
about Israel's right to security and in favor of Palestinian state, a speech praised by diplomatic adviser Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine is a French Socialist politician.Diplomatic adviser of President Mitterrand, he served as secretary-general of the presidency from 1991 to 1995, then as Foreign Minister in the government of Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.After the reelection of Jacques Chirac in May 2002, Védrine...
as a "masterpiece of Mitterrandian farsightedness, tact, and courage." Prior to his presidency he supported the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
.
As Israeli involvement in the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
grew, Mitterrand felt that Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
had lied to him about Israel's "limited aims" of the June 6 campaign in southern Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. Mitterrand condemned the Israeli siege of Beirut during the summer of 1982 and he sent French troops to secure the safe evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership and fighters from Lebanon. Mitterrand's calls for mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO went unheard for many years but, after the PLO recognized the state of Israel, Mitterrand welcomed the PLO leader, Yasir Arafat, in Paris, in May 1989.
New Zealand
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the "action" branch of the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), carried out on July 10, 1985. It aimed to sink the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
fleet, the Rainbow Warrior
Rainbow Warrior (1978)
The Rainbow Warrior was a former UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food trawler later purchased by the environmental organisation Greenpeace...
in the port of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, to prevent her from interfering in a nuclear test in Moruroa
Moruroa
Moruroa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean...
.
The scandal resulted in the resignation of the French Defence Minister Charles Hernu
Charles Hernu
Charles Hernu was a French socialist politician, most notably serving as Minister of Defence from 1981 to 1985, until forced to resign over the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand.-Biography:In 1946, Hernu studied at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium where he...
, and the subject remained controversial. It was twenty years afterwards that the personal responsibility of French President François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
was admitted.
Rwanda
The French daily newspaper Le MondeLe Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
printed newly declassified government memos and diplomatic telegrams revealing Mitterrand's support for Habyariamana's regime on July 6, 2007. The official French policy was to push Habyarimana in sharing power, while stopping Paul Kagamé
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...
's FPR
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...
's military advance, supported by Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. On April 2, 1993, after an agreement between Habyarimana and Kagamé which prepared the August 1993 Arusha Accords
Arusha Accords
The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...
, conservative Prime minister Edouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.-Biography:Balladur was born in İzmir, Turkey, to an Armenian Catholic family with five children and long-standing ties to France...
envisioned to send 1,000 more soldiers, a proposition accepted by Mitterrand. The documents prove that the French government was aware of ethnic cleansings committed by Hutu
Hutu
The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
s extremists as soon as February 1993, a year before the assassination of Habyarimana
Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
The assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of April 6, 1994, was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda....
which triggered a full-scale genocide.
Yugoslavia
Mitterrand opposed Germany's rapid recognition of CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
's independence, fearing this would lead to the violent discomposition of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. He advocated for a common, European recognition of Croatia, and to "suggest to Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
to retain a link between themselves." He declared on 14 December 1991 to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , short F.A.Z., also known as the FAZ, is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung .F.A.Z...
newspaper : "We don't have any interest that Europe explodes in a thousand pieces."
Further reading
- Bozo, Frédéric. "Mitterrand's France, the End of the Cold War, and German Unification: A Reappraisal," Cold War History, Nov 2007, Vol. 7 Issue 4, pp 455-478
- Tiersky, Ronald. Francois Mitterand (2000) excerpt and text search
See also
- François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
- Foreign relations of FranceForeign relations of FranceA charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies.-Nicolas Sarkozy:...
- AngolagateAngolagateAngolagate, also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair, is an international political scandal over the secret sale and shipment of arms from Central Europe to the government of Angola by the Government of France in the 1990s...
- 110 Propositions for France110 Propositions for France110 Propositions for France was the name of the Socialist Party's program for the 1981 presidential election during which the Socialist Party's candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected by 51.76% of the people...