On The Duality Of The Relationship Between France And America In The Period Of Charles De Gaulle

The contradictions and conflicts between France and America during the ruleunder Charles de Gaulle was the most catchy side of the internal relations of thewestern alliance during the Cold War. When he came into office, Charles de Gaulletotally changed the former’s “alliance policy” of completely following America duringthe Forth Republic, and emphasized independent policies and free actions. He set thelong-term strategic objective of France to realize an independent and great France.With the lead of Charles de Gaulle, France quit from NATO’s militaryorganization and built independent nuclear strength in military and security field.Besides, France actively promoted the integration of western Europe and normalizedFrance’s relations with the Soviet Union and China. And in economic sector, Francefighted against dollar’s hegemony and resist America’s economic permeation.However, the highlighted conflicts between the two countries were just one sideof the relation between France and America. The other side was cooperation andcommon views. Actually, even during the period of heavy conflicts, cooperationbetween two countries had never stopped. The common interests between France andAmerica in withstanding the Soviet threat and safeguarding Europe’s securityguaranteed them left room for each other and kept restraint to maintain the unify ofwestern alliance. Therefore, only if we grasp the feature of interweaving divergencesand cooperation can we comprehensively understand the relation between France andAmerica during this period.