FRANCE: Such a Difficult Ally

Why Paris is so independent

To Americans—and indeed to many Europeans—the reaction was irritatingly familiar. French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt issued a joint statement strongly condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Three days later, Paris abruptly declared that it would not be represented at a German-sponsored meeting of Western European foreign ministers with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in Bonn. Once again, France stood out as seemingly arrogant and as the ally least disposed to back Washington in an international crisis.

The French attitude revived memories of President Charles de Gaulle's haughty 1966 decision to pull French troops out of NATO'S integrated military command, and his persistent exclusion of Britain from the European Community. Why is it that France so often emerges as a difficult partner for the U.S. and NATO? TIME Paris Bureau Chief Henry Muller offers this analysis:

French diplomats take umbrage at accusations that they are soft on the Soviets. France, they point out, voted for the United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning the Afghanistan invasion. True, France has not followed the U.S. lead in imposing economic sanctions—though it pledged, along with other Community members, not to take advantage of opportunities created by the American grain embargo—nor has it backed the boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics. The French explain that this is not because they disagree with the Carter Administration's actions but rather because European nations should use tactics better suited to them. "The West's diversity is its strength," says one Paris diplomat.

Beyond that, spokesmen for Giscard argue that France has followed a steadier course than the U.S. in its relations with the Soviet Union. They accuse the Carter Administration of vacillation and sending out conflicting signals—ranging from its early emphasis on human rights to last fall's "minicrisis" over Soviet troops in Cuba. No wonder, in the view of Paris, the Soviets got the impression that they could ride roughshod over the West. The French feel that Washington does not fully appreciate their efforts in seeking to contain Moscow-inspired expansionism in Africa, a role that has earned them the sobriquet "the West's Cubans." In Chad, Mauritania, Zaire and, last month in Tunisia, the French moved quickly to give military support to governments that were threatened by externally sponsored subversion.

Nonetheless, many Frenchmen have criticized President Giscard for being painfully slow to respond to events in Afghanistan. His first reaction, mumbled at a New Year's party for French reporters, was that the Soviet move may not have been "premeditated." Foreign Minister Jean François-Poncet later tried to justify the equivocal French response by noting (incorrectly) that "France buys more oil from the Soviet Union than from Iran." Even the Giscard-Schmidt communiqué appeared indecisive to some. "It says to the Soviets, 'The next time you pull an Afghanistan you will be punished,' " complained Professor Alfred Grosser of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques. "That is the action of a weak parent."