France confirms plans to return to NATO's military command

摘要

President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed on 17 June that France planned to return to NATO's integrated military command, which Paris quit in 1966 in defiance over what it viewed as US dominance of the alliance. "We can now renew our full relations with NATO without fear for our independence or of running the risk of being dragged into a war against our will," he stated. The French president was giving a speech that coincided with the unveiling of a French White Paper on defence and security, which spelled out France's military strategy for the coming 15 years. Official sources said France's decision to return fully to the NATO fold - it has remained a member of the alliance while standing outside the command structure - would probably take place when NATO marks its 60th anniversary on 3-4 April 2009 in Strasbourg. Sarkozy said France would keep its nuclear deterrent strictly under national control and pledged that no French troops would serve permanently under NATO's authority in peacetime.