France seriously weighs NATO exit amid doubts about US alliance
French MP Clémence Guetté (Photo: Getty Images)
For the first time, a parliamentary initiative to withdraw France from NATO has been placed on the agenda of the French National Assembly, states the initiator of the proposal, Clémence Guetté, Vice President of the National Assembly and a member of the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI).
According to Guetté, France’s withdrawal from NATO has long been her party’s position. However, the debate has gained new urgency due to what she described as the United States’ deliberate decision to officially return to an openly imperial policy.
To support her argument, the politician cited a number of specific examples:
- The illegal abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro;
- Threats against other sovereign states, including threats to annex Greenland;
- Sanctions against European officials who insist on regulating the activities of US digital corporations;
- Predatory trade deals were imposed on the European Union under pressure;
- A demand made at the latest NATO summit to spend 5% of GDP on defense expenditures that primarily benefit the US arms industry and come at the expense of European independence;
- Interference in European elections in favor of the far left.
All of this, Guetté said, shows that the US is officially abandoning international law and the mechanisms of collective security, effectively assigning the EU the status of a vassal state.
“(It is urgently necessary to recognize this and — ed.) no longer consider the United States an ally,” Guetté said.
She added that under these circumstances, France remaining in a military alliance led by a country that openly operates outside the bounds of international law is neither desirable nor sustainable.
According to Guetté, such membership exposes France to a significantly higher risk of strategic dependence and could drag the country into conflicts that run counter to Paris’s interests, its principles, and its international obligations.
“(Withdrawal from NATO would allow France — ed.) to restore its military and diplomatic independence and once again become a non-aligned state,” the politician explained.
She stressed that leaving NATO or rejecting any permanent military alliance does not mean isolation. On the contrary, she argues that breaking with the Western bloc and its arrogant worldview in favor of a non-aligned stance would increase France’s influence and strengthen its peace-building efforts.
“At strategically important platforms such as the Francophonie, emerging economies, the UN, and the OSCE, France, together with other participants, can promote cooperation in the common interest: responding to the environmental crisis, seeking alternatives to neoliberalism, protecting and ensuring access to humanity’s shared resources, and advancing multilateral nuclear disarmament,” the edition writes.
As Guetté explains, by gaining an independent voice, France would be able to speak the language of common human interests and address the peoples of the world.
Can France leave NATO?
The edition notes that, based on an analysis of France’s political balance of power, such a policy shift, withdrawal from NATO, is not entirely unrealistic.
In particular, the center-left alliance that includes LFI currently holds the largest representation in the National Assembly. At the same time, Marine Le Pen’s right-wing party, the National Rally, remains strong and has, for many years, also criticized NATO.
US and Europe are in different camps
About a week ago, left-wing political forces in France initiated a resolution calling for a phased withdrawal from NATO, arguing that the Alliance serves US interests rather than European ones.
We also previously reported that, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, the US is gradually turning away from some of its allies. In light of shifts in the global order, he has called on the EU to pursue greater strategic autonomy.
