![]() ![]() When his successor was king, the regent convinced him to host Peter the Great at Versailles, in part because Russia had defeated Poland and Sweden and had become the dominant Eastern power. In short, when Peter the Great visited Europe in the time of Louis XIV, the king refused to host him at Versailles. Gergorin outlined why Versailles was so important as a symbol for Putin. Despite that, Macron hosted Putin prior to the meeting and notably at Versailles. Russia had been tossed out of the G-8 thereby making it the G-7. A key example is hosting Putin at Versailles prior to the 2017 G-7 meeting. Macron has been very sensitive to the use of symbolism in his Presidency to set in motion his policy agenda. He started from the outset in terms of arguing for an expanded European agenda, including in defense and security policy. In his 2017 campaign, he was the only strongly pro-European candidate. He does so in his speeches by using the French phrase “en même temps.” “He likes to propose two contradictory policies, and say, “We should pursue both simultaneously. “He often talks in terms of contradictory initiatives which have to be pursued at the same time. ![]() We then discussed the Macron style as Gergorin sees it. But at the same time, Macron believes as have most French leaders in the Fifth Republic, that France’s relationship with Germany is very essential.” Indeed, this idea that it is possible to balance French Western alliances with a special dialogue with Russia is central to Macron’s thinking. He is very much attached to national independence, is rather euro skeptical, and very much tempted to come back to some policy of balance between the West and the Russians. As JLG underscored: “Chevènement is a socialist Gaullist. The second is a politician still rather influential, namely, Jean-Pierre Chevènement. ![]() As Gergorin put it: “Rocard was in favor of a free market but wanted to adjust it so that greater equality of opportunity could be created.” Rocard is deceased so his influence is in terms of legacy, not current influence. The first was the socialist Michel Rocard. “He was always convinced that the French economy has to be free market oriented.” But he had two significant left-wing influences. The Intellectual FrameworkĪccording to Gergorin, the intellectual framework for Macron is within European social democracy. And finally, we discussed the various aspects of his policy initiatives which make up his legacy to date. We then discussed his effective use of symbolism in placing France within the evolving strategic context. We started by discussing the intellectual influences on Macron which shaped his policy framework. We first met in September 1980 when he was Director of Policy Planning in the French Foreign Ministry.Īs I am in throes of finishing my reader of French defense policy under President Macron, I discussed with him how to understand and characterize this period of French history. Jean-Louis is a noted European strategist with many years of experience both in government and in the private sector. During my visit to France in the Fall of 2021, I had a chance to talk with my old friend and colleague, Jean-Louis Gergorin.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |