France Supports Preemptive War. Just Not Where You'd Think.

Okay, so maybe it's exactly where you'd think:

During a state visit to China, French Premier Raffarin threw support behind a law allowing China to attack Taiwan and continued to push for a lift of the EU arms embargo.

At the outset of a three-day visit to China, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he supported Beijing's "anti-secession" law on Taiwan, and vowed to keep pushing for an end to an EU arms embargo that could open the door for Paris to sell weapons to the Asian giant.

Raffarin also signed or finalized major business deals with Beijing valued at around $3.2 billion (2.4 billion euros).

Appearing to put his government at odds with the European Union, Raffarin said at the outset of the three day visit that Paris had no objections to the anti-secession law.

Among the deals is a commitment by Beijing to buy $500 Million to $600 Million worth of planes from Airbus.

This may signal another move in the realigning of alliances around the globe. France is making noise that the US should keep its nose out of EU-China relations just at the time when the Bush Administration is considering referring North Korea to the UN Security Council and reforms calling for the expansion of the UNSC begin to draw some attention. With this coming on the heels of the recent Chinese saber-rattling towards Taiwan, there can be no doubt where France's allegiance would lie in the event of a Chinese-American confrontation.

This can be construed quite easily as a French salvo aimed directly at the US-Taiwan relationship and the US's strategic role in the region and at the UN.

[Raffarin] also said the two countries share similar views on international affairs, favoring solving international disputes through peaceful means and multilateral actions and respecting the diversity of cultures and development models of other countries.

To safeguard peace and promote development, France and China maintain good cooperation at the UN Security Council, taking concerted moves over the issues of Iraq, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran, he said.

This would actually be more troubling if the French people were not leaning toward rejecting the EU constitution. An enlarged and cohesive EU, dominated by France, would upset traditional balances of power even further and cause the US all sorts of headaches. But if the constitution fails, France will be back in its box and the Administration is more likely to see French-Chinese relations as tolerably intolerable.
 

Comments

[Maggie]

Earlier this week President Basescu warned France to stop lecturing Romania about its warm relations with the US and Britain. I expect Taiwan will give voice to the meddling Chirac before the week ends.

[Daniel]

Yes, and Barnier has made things worse by saying that Mr Basecu doesn't have "A European reflex." Romania and Bulgaria see themselves as free-trade "Atlantists" which is highlighting France's loosening grip on Europe.

As France draws closer to China's knee, I wouldn't be surprised if Japan reacts with some select words of its own.

[DensityDuck]

What we need to do here, is somehow get George W. Bush to become the Premier of France. Then all the people who can't separate a country from its leader can go scream about a place that deserves it.

[Steve]

Can France's industries actually secure any international contracts without her politicians bowing and scraping to the globe's dictatorships?

If Chirac would let his higher faculties govern his foreign policies, rather than let his TotalElf Fiina and Airbus body parts drive them, he might gain lasting respect for his nation. Instead his government has the mendacity of a crack dealer in East L.A., and the moral authority of Kim Jong-Il.

And all of it reflects poorly on the wonderful French people.
-Steve

[The Indigent Blogger]

The Taiwan Relations Act, which requies the U.S. to support Taiwan with arms and defense, could land us in a situation of being in an arms race with Europe through our Chinese proxies. I discuss this in a little more detail on my blog.

[Mrs. Davis]

Another way to view the EU vote is that if approved, France's influence will be diluted among 24 other nations, most of which have foreign policies not aligned with France. If the EU is rejected, France can continue its machinations full strength with allies Belgium, Spain and Germany. At least the last will abandon the French Connection after its next election. Nonetheless, better a France tied down in Europe than one free to build an alliance of dictators through the Mid East, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

[timw]

Actually, this could be a brilliant strategy by the Bush administration.

The Bush administration acts like they don't want France to sell arms to China. Therefore, France has no choice but to sell arms to China to prove that it is not a U.S. lapdog.

China is armed with French weapons and equipment.

I don't really see a down side to this strategy.

; -)

[Daniel]

timw-

A brilliant analysis. I am ashamed that I did not think of it.

[Sean P]

timw: Interesting theory. I suppose the next step would be for Bush to demand that the French government cease all efforts to train the Chinese military, thus ensuring that China's soldiers are well trained in surrender strategy.

[Jerry]

Isn't it time to declare war on France or at least try to have the CIA destablize the regime? Well, forget that -- they'd end up strengthening it. But it's easy to see why the British despise the French, the Germans (despite the present relationship) have contempt for their cowardice and we're continually surprised by their next demonstration of moral corruption. Maybe Islamization will straighten them out.

[DaveP.]

Hey, but the French have John F. Kerry and his Magic Hat on their side! How could they go wrong?

[furious_a]

Ah, the perfidious French, at least they're consistent...

They betrayed Jean d'Arc to the Burgundians after she saved France from the English.

They sided with the Ottoman Turks against the Hapsburgs during the last Turkish siege of Vienna.

They scuttled their navy rather than sortie it and have it serve under British command in WWII.

They were the first European Axis troops to clash with Americans (in Algeria).

Their Army lasted about half as long against the Wehrmact as did the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

They rounded up French Jews and packed them into eastward-bound cattlecars before the Occupying Germans issued deportation orders.

They armed the Francophone Hutus against the Anglophone Tutsis in the Rwandan Genocide.

Feel free to add to the above list.

Q: Why are French country roads lined with trees?
A: So that France's conquerors can march to Paris in the shade.

"French Army Rifles for Sale -- Never Fired, Only Dropped Once"

The French Terror Alert Status System:

GREEN: Run
YELLOW: Hide
ORANGE: Surrender
RED: Collaborate

[Mark Tinder]

Steve says that the Taiwan Relations Act "could land us in a situation of being in an arms race with Europe..." That sounds like something from The Onion! Really Steve, should we be concerned about arms competition from the Euros?

[Mark Tinder]

Oops! I read the address wrong. It wasn't Steve who made the absurd comment; it was The Indigent Blogger (you'll stay that way too, if you keep stating that the EU is a threat to the US).

[Mark Tinder]

BTW-lest we get TOO smug about the irrelevant French, remember that their Exocet missile is not an inconsequential weapon, as the British learned the hard way in the Falklands.

[Maggie]

Great comments all. I am amused with all the talk of the EU....in fact what Chirac wants is to be the President of the United States of Europe.

Unfortunately for him the "new" europe states are on a different page than my "favorite" frog.

[David All]

As the British say:
Vive La Frogs!

[The Indigent Blogger]

Mark Tinder, I wasn't indicating that the EU was a threat to the US, they are too busy being a threat to themselves. However, the Taiwan Relations Act obligates the U.S. to supply Taiwan with all the weapons they need to defend against the Chinese and European weapons that China will have aimed at them.

By the way, I have no intention of ever being anything but indigent. After all, indigence is bliss.

[rosignol]

Can France's industries actually secure any international contracts without her politicians bowing and scraping to the globe's dictatorships?
-Steve

This is nothing new. I refer you to a comment made around a century ago:

"France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been governed by prostitutes."
-Mark Twain

[Lisa]

What a brilliant insert of a Twain quote!