A former student of the École Normale Supérieure, Jean-Loup Bonnamy is an associate professor of philosophy and a specialist in political philosophy.
Nothing is going well between Paris and Berlin.
The bilateral summit scheduled for October 26 was canceled on Wednesday.
No new date has been set.
This is the first time since its creation in 2003 by Jacques Chirac that this meeting has been canceled.
This cancellation expresses Paris' annoyance at the German refusal of community financing of EU energy expenditure, which would be analogous to the recovery fund set up formerly by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron in the context of the Covid pandemic. -19.
In this period of tension that is opening with Berlin, Paris must come out of denial and become aware of four fundamental axioms.
First of all, the Franco-German couple is a chimera.
This expression is never used across the Rhine.
Already in 1963, de Gaulle had been disappointed by the German attitude when he understood that the FRG would always place its commitment within NATO before the French alliance.
Reunification has made matters worse by shifting Germany's center of gravity to the east, as Coralie Delaume has aptly analyzed in
Le couple franco-allemand n'existe pas
.
Bonn, the former capital of the FRG, was only 250 kilometers from Metz.
Today, Berlin is 800 kilometers from Metz, but only a few dozen kilometers from the Polish border.
Then, second axiom, France exhausts itself in vain by asking Berlin to be more cooperative, because Germany has, since its reunification, a selfish policy, being limited to the strict defense of its national interests.
Then, it is the third axiom, Germany has opted for a “free rider” policy vis-à-vis the EU.
Germany supports the European project whenever it can benefit from it.
But she brakes with four irons when this project would imply that she put her hand in the wallet.
Finally, there is a misunderstanding between Germany and France.
Nostalgic for Louis XIV and Napoleon, France wants to use the EU to restore its power and regain its former greatness.
On the contrary, traumatized by Nazism, Germany abandoned all historical ambition and converted its former military expansionism (today cursed) into economic aggressiveness.
Germany has nothing to do with power and only aspires to one thing: to get out of history, because history has cost it too much.
Above all, Germany has no desire to help France regain its rank.
Germany abandoned all historical ambition and converted its former (now cursed) military expansionism into economic aggressiveness.
Germany has nothing to do with power and only aspires to one thing: to get out of history, because history has cost it too much.
Above all, Germany has no desire to help France regain its rank.
Germany abandoned all historical ambition and converted its old (now cursed) military expansionism into economic aggressiveness.
Germany has nothing to do with power and only aspires to one thing: to get out of history, because history has cost it too much.
Above all, Germany has no desire to help France regain its rank.
More generally, Germany's ambition is to methodically undermine all remnants of French power.
Jean Loup Bonnamy
Germany's only obsession is its trade surpluses.
From an accounting point of view, they are vital to bear the burden of an aging German population.
On the affective level, Germany maintains a neurotic relationship with its surpluses which are a real fetish for it, while they unbalance the entire world economy.
To maintain this surplus, Germany benefits from the advantage of the euro.
Overvalued against the franc (and therefore suffocating the French economy), the euro is undervalued against the mark and gives Germany a powerful competitive advantage.
It is also distinguished by its frenzied opposition to any European protectionism.
An example is revealing: Chinese-made solar panels benefit from a policy of dumping
Chinese State, massive public subsidies allowing Chinese companies to sell at a loss and thus stifle European and American competition.
A German SME, Solar World, had lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
For once, the Commission recognized that the rules of competition were not respected and set up protectionist barriers.
For fear of seeing its own exports hit with retaliatory measures by China, Germany lobbied and finally obtained the removal of this anti-dumping protection, against the interests of all other Europeans and even photovoltaic companies. German.
stifle European and American competition.
A German SME, Solar World, had lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
For once, the Commission recognized that the rules of competition were not respected and set up protectionist barriers.
For fear of seeing its own exports hit with retaliatory measures by China, Germany lobbied and finally obtained the removal of this anti-dumping protection, against the interests of all other Europeans and even photovoltaic companies. German.
stifle European and American competition.
A German SME, Solar World, had lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
For once, the Commission recognized that the rules of competition were not respected and set up protectionist barriers.
For fear of seeing its own exports hit with retaliatory measures by China, Germany lobbied and finally obtained the removal of this anti-dumping protection, against the interests of all other Europeans and even photovoltaic companies. Germans.
were not respected and set up protectionist barriers.
For fear of seeing its own exports hit with retaliatory measures by China, Germany lobbied and finally obtained the removal of this anti-dumping protection, against the interests of all other Europeans and even photovoltaic companies. Germans.
were not respected and set up protectionist barriers.
For fear of seeing its own exports hit with retaliatory measures by China, Germany lobbied and finally obtained the removal of this anti-dumping protection, against the interests of all other Europeans and even photovoltaic companies. Germans.
More generally, Germany's ambition is to methodically undermine all remnants of French power.
In Australia, last year, it was against our German competitor TKMS that the French Naval Group won the contract for the sale of submarines.
Few followers of fair play, our German "friends" ardently supported the press and lobbying campaign which led to the breach of contract by the Australians.
Same line on the energy level.
In 2011, Berlin gave up nuclear power without consulting its European partners.
It doesn't matter whether it boosts its CO2 emissions or embarrasses French companies.
Indeed, nuclear power plants emit on average 80 times less CO2 per kilowatt-hour produced than coal-fired power plants and 45 times less than gas-fired power plants.
By abandoning nuclear power and taking wind power to the pinnacle, Angela Merkel has therefore considerably developed coal, which has caused the pollution emitted by Germany to explode, to the great detriment of air quality in Germany and in the world.
In Germany, 17% of energy comes from coal (against 3% for France).
And 61% comes from gas and oil (compared to 45% in France).
Germany is today the sixth largest polluter in the world, far ahead of France, emitting annually on average more than double the CO2 compared to us.
French nuclear power – synonymous with strategic independence, technological excellence, inexpensive electricity and carbon-free energy – has German schemes as its main enemy.
Whether on gas and gas pipelines (with the
At best to ask for more European federalism and to require Germany to get more involved, he should campaign for less Germany and less Europe.
Jean Loup Bonnamy
Paris is therefore right to (finally!) bang its fist on the table against Berlin.
One downside, however.
Paris is protesting for the wrong reasons.
Indeed, Emmanuel Macron criticizes the Germans for their selfishness.
Instead of criticizing this national selfishness, he would do better to imitate it.
At best to ask for more European federalism and to require Germany to get more involved, he should campaign for less Germany and less Europe.
In 1959, the book by Claude Digeon entitled
The German Crisis of French Thought was published.
, in which the historian highlights the fascination that Germany exercised over a defeated and humiliated France between our defeat of 1871 and 1914. French politics.
