Probably never since the Giscard years, or even since the Nixon-de Gaulle friendship, has France benefited from such a good image as it does today in the United States. The departure of Angela Merkel, the German hesitations about Ukraine, the clear commitment of Paris on this same subject and, finally, the clear electoral victory of Emmanuel Macron have raised the rating of France as rarely. “The German Chancellor, if she were still there, might have played an important role in the Ukrainian conflict, but her successor Olaf Scholz is inexperienced; this role therefore falls naturally to Macron”, points out Max Bergmann, who heads the Europe program , Russia and Eurasia from the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Another index of the French popularity rating across the Atlantic, according to the same expert: “The European country considered to be closest to the United States currently is not the United Kingdom but France.” The White House considers that Emmanuel Macron has demonstrated his European leadership and that he is a reliable partner within the “Nato team”.
Between the Biden administration and the Elysée, coordination on Ukraine is perfect
At the Pentagon, Paris is respected for its commitment to the Sahel, the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, but also for its military industrial capacity. France has announced the delivery of twelve trucks equipped with an artillery system (Caesar) to Ukraine. As for Macron’s “lone rider” with the Russian dictator – the French president has spoken to him twenty times since mid-December – he is not one. The thing is perfectly coordinated with the Biden administration as with Berlin. If this were not the case, many leaks and criticisms would have emanated from Washington. But there were none. “Emmanuel Macron was designated by the allies as the best channel of communication with Putin, on the understanding that it could not be Joe Biden…”, confirms Bergmann. In the “Nato team”, everyone has their role, in short.
On the “AUKUS affair”, which caused so much noise last September when this strategic alliance was announced, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (but not France, whose sale of submarines in Canberra was torpedoed, and who had recalled his ambassador from Washington to Paris to express his displeasure), everyone in the American capital wants to make amends. “The general feeling is that the Biden administration screwed up on this file,” says Max Bergmann.
For his part, Robert O’Brien, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, regrets: “The way things were handled was clumsy.” And he insisted three times that his proximity to Emmanuel Macron be mentioned in our columns. Before recalling that France is his country’s oldest ally: “Without the decisive intervention of France in the naval battle of Chesapeake Bay [aussi connue sous le nom de bataille des caps de Virginie, 5 septembre 1781]there might not be a United States.”
The Macron and Trump couples dine at the Jules Verne restaurant, located in the Eiffel Tower, July 13, 2017
afp.com/SAUL LOEB
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The popularity of the country of champagne and elegance is as high among pro-Trump Republican elected officials as in the Democratic camp. This is also explained by the victory of Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen on April 24. Certainly, before becoming aware of the affinities of the National Rally (RN) with Vladimir Putin, the most reactionary conservatives saw Marine Le Pen rather favorably. But learning that, in its vision of the world, it placed Russia and the United States equidistant from France stunned them.
As for the Democrats, they see in the re-election of the French president a hope. “President Macron was re-elected when his popularity was only 36%”, for example welcomed, on the evening of the election, Ron Klain, the chief of staff of Joe Biden (the popularity of the American president stagnates at 38%). Also, Democrats like to recall that Obama’s re-election against McCain in 2012, with 53% of the vote, was considered very broad. By comparison, Macron’s score, 58% versus 42%, is overwhelming. “With his very clear victory over Marine Le Pen, he acquires the image of a winner (a winner)”, observes the editor of the magazine National Interest, Jacob Heilbrunn. Now, as everyone knows, America loves winners !