FOREIGN
RELATIONS
France plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the WTO, la Francophonie and other multilateral institutions. Among NATO members, France is second only to the United States in terms of troops deployed abroad. The French will take over the rotating EU presidency from July-December 2008 and plan to focus on immigration, energy, the environment, and European defense during their term.
A charter member of the United Nations, France is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies. France is also America's oldest ally; French military intervention was instrumental in helping Britain's American colonies establish independence. Because many battles in which the United States was involved during World War I and World War II took place in France, more American soldiers have been killed on French soil than on that of any other foreign country.
France is a leader in Western Europe because of its size, location, and large
economy, membership in European organizations, strong military posture, and
energetic diplomacy. France generally has worked to strengthen the global
economic and political influence of the EU and its role in common European
defense. It views Franco-German cooperation and the development of a European
Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) with other EU members, as the foundation of
efforts to enhance European security.
France supports Quartet (U.S.-EU-Russia-UN) efforts to implement the Middle East
roadmap, which envisions establishment of a Palestinian state, living
side-by-side in peace and security with Israel. Recognizing the need for a
comprehensive peace agreement, France supports the involvement of all Arab
parties and Israel in a multilateral peace process.
Since 2003, France has supported four UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on
Iraq, including UNSCR 1546, which laid out a timetable for Iraq's political
transition and reaffirmed UNSC authorization for a Multinational Force in Iraq,
at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to stabilize the country. France
contributed to the 230 million euro EU contribution to Iraq reconstruction in
2003. After the Iraqi Interim Government took power, France agreed to
substantial debt relief and offered police training to Iraqi security forces. In
2006, France and the U.S. collaborated closely to create a consensus in the UN
to adopt UNSCR 1696 demanding action from Iran to end its enrichment-related and
preprocessing activities. France has actively and repeatedly publicly stressed
the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.
France continues to play an important role in Africa, especially in its former
colonies, through aid programs, commercial activities, military agreements, and
cultural impact. In those former colonies where the French presence remains
important, France has supported political, military, and social stability.
France maintains permanent military bases in Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, and
Senegal, and has maintained a long-term military presence in Chad. An attack on
French forces in Cote d'Ivoire in 2004 led to the departure of thousands of
French nationals from that country. France responded to the crisis in Cote
d'Ivoire by dispatching Operation Unicorn, which has worked with UN forces to
help stabilize Cote d'Ivoire. France has also deployed forces to Togo (in
support of Operation Unicorn in Cote d'Ivoire) and to the Central African
Republic, where French forces have assisted government forces in deterring rebel
elements. France participated with EU partners in an international military
operation (EUFOR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2006, which played
an important presence during in elections that year in the D.R.C. France was
instrumental in organizing the June 2007 ministerial conference on Darfur and
has taken the lead on the UN peacekeeping mission for Chad and the C.A.R.
France has extensive political and commercial relations with Asian countries,
including China, Japan, and Southeast Asia as well as an increasing presence in
regional fora. France is seeking to broaden its commercial presence in China and
will pose a competitive challenge to U.S. business, particularly in aerospace,
high-tech, and luxury markets. In Southeast Asia, France was an architect of the
1991 Paris Accords, which ended the conflict in Cambodia.
Security Issues
French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence,
nuclear deterrence, and military sufficiency. France is a founding member of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and has worked actively with Allies
to adapt NATO, internally and externally, to the post-Cold War environment.
However, in 1966, the French withdrew from NATO's military bodies while
remaining full participants in the alliance's political councils. In December
1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's
military wing, including the Military Committee. President Sarkozy has publicly
expressed support for the principle of French reintegration into NATO. France is
currently preparing a defense white paper that will review France's security
requirements. France remains a firm supporter of the OSCE and other efforts at
cooperation.
Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in a variety of
peacekeeping/coalition efforts in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans,
often taking the lead in these operations. France has undertaken a major
restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more
rapidly deployable and better tailored for operations outside of mainland
France. Key elements of the restructuring include reducing personnel, bases, and
headquarters and rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French
active-duty military in June 2007 numbered about 350,000 (including Gendarmes),
of which nearly 39,900 were deployed outside of French territory. France
completed the move to all-professional armed forces when conscription ended on
December 31, 2002.
France places a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. After conducting a final series of six nuclear tests, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. France is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France participates actively in the Proliferation Security Initiative, and is engaged with the U.S., both bilaterally and at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), to curb nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) proliferation from the D.P.R.K., Iran, Libya, and elsewhere. France has joined with the U.S., Germany, and the other three permanent members of the UN Security Council to offer a package of incentives and disincentives to Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities. France has also signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. France maintains a color-coded security system, similar to that of the U.S., consisting of yellow, orange, red and scarlet threat levels.
U.S.-FRENCH
RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and France are active and friendly. Mutual visits by high-level officials are conducted frequently. Bilateral contact at the cabinet level has traditionally been active. France and the United States share common values and have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues. Differences are discussed frankly and have not generally been allowed to impair the pattern of close cooperation that characterizes relations between the two countries.
France is one of NATO's top five troop contributors. The French support NATO
modernization efforts and are leading contributors to the NATO Response Force
(NRF). France is keen to build European defense capabilities, including through
the development of EU battle-group sized force packages and joint European
military production initiatives. President Sarkozy supports development of a
European defense that would complement, not compete with, NATO, which remains at
the core of transatlantic security. During his December 2007 visit to Kabul, the
President underscored French commitment to complete NATO's mission in
Afghanistan, where some 1,900 French troops serve.
France is a close partner with the U.S. in the war on terror. It cooperates with
the U.S. to monitor and disrupt terrorist groups and has processed numerous U.S.
requests for information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. French
security and intelligence services have rounded up hundreds of extremists in the
past year. The French judiciary in December 2007 tried and convicted five French
former Guantanamo detainees on terrorism charges. France is a strong partner in
multiple non-proliferation fora and is a key participant in the Proliferation
Security Initiative. Through the "EU3" (France, the U.K., and Germany), France is working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
France opposed the use of force in Iraq in March 2003 and did not join the
U.S.-led coalition that liberated the country from the dictatorial rule of
Saddam Hussein. Despite differences over Iraq, the U.S. and France continue to
cooperate closely on many issues, most notably the global war on terrorism,
efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and on
regional problems, including in Africa, Lebanon, and Kosovo. On Iraq, the French
agreed to generous debt relief for Iraq in Paris Club negotiations and have
accepted the establishment of a NATO training mission there.
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France seeks robust U.S. engagement in the
peace process. France is working to contain the Hamas-led challenge to the
Palestinian Authority. President Sarkozy, like his predecessor, President
Chirac, is committed to keeping France in supportive relations with Israel.
France hosted a donors conference for Palestinians in December 2007.
The U.S. and France have worked closely to support a sovereign and independent Lebanon, free of Syrian domination. The U.S. and France co-sponsored in September 2004 UNSCR 1559, which called for full withdrawal of Syrian forces, a free and fair electoral process, and disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. In the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, the U.S. and France reiterated calls for a full, immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and security services from Lebanon. France also co-sponsored UNSCR 1701 and was one of the leading countries in Europe working to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 by committing 2,000 troops to UNIFIL-plus. Strong French backing led to adoption of UNSCR 1757 establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute the perpetrators of the Hariri assassination and other killings of critics of Syria's interference in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Kouchner is working hard to help competing Lebanese political factions agree to a framework for governing the country in accordance with the country's constitution and free from external interference. France also participates in the U.S. Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative.
Trade and investment between the U.S. and France are strong. On average, over 1 billion dollars in commercial transactions take place between France and the U.S. every day, with the U.S. being France's sixth-ranked supplier and its sixth-largest customer. France ranks as the United States' eighth trading partner for total goods (imports and exports). There are approximately 2,300 French subsidiaries in the U.S. that provide more than 485,200 jobs and that generate an estimated $196 billion in turnover. The U.S. is the top destination for French investments worldwide. Concurrently, the U.S. is the largest foreign investor in France, employing over 619,000 French citizens with aggregate investment estimated at $65.9 billion in 2006.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Craig Roberts Stapleton
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mark Pekala
Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs--Josiah B. Rosenblatt
Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs--Seth Winnick
Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs--Robert Connan
Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs--Catherine Barry
Minister-Counselor for Management Affairs-- An T. Le
Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs--James Bullock
The U.S. Embassy in France is located at 2 Avenue Gabriel, Paris 8 (tel. [33] (1) 4312-2222). The United States also is represented in Paris by its mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
