Looking On: France and the New Germany

Franco-German reconciliation lies at the root of post-war European co-operation. The Franco-German alliance, formalised in 1963, has become a powerful axis with which all other European powers have had to deal. It is contended in this article that the main French fears over German unification were those of a nation discovering itself to be a junior partner in a relationship within which it had long pretended to seniority. This article retraces French reactions to German unification during 1989–90, and reviews the state of contemporary Franco-German relations with regard to personal relationships, changing perceptions of the equilibrium of the Franco-German alliance, foreign policy, relations with central and eastern Europe, and European integration.