“We have never had so many difficulties with so many of our allies (…) And why? Because there is not a coherence of the President of the Republic who embodies the word of France”, lamented Xavier Bertrand, guest of franceinfo Monday, October 4.
>> Taxes, pensions, nuclear, international … What to remember from Xavier Bertrand’s interview on franceinfo
The presidential candidate returned to the case of the Australian submarines, a contract lost at the last moment by France after an intervention by the United States seeking to counter Chinese influence in the region. “I would have urgently requested an extraordinary NATO summit so that this question of confidence could be asked, he said. Where is NATO going? Is NATO a cold war machine with the Chinese? Or just waging war with the Chinese? “
“If that’s it, I say stop. If France has to change its relations with China, it is France that will have decided. It is not the Americans and it is not NATO. I want us to keep this independence. “
Xavier Bertrandto franceinfo
Xavier Bertrand believes that France must be respected without coming into conflict with its allies. “We are not going to wage the Cold War on the Americans, but we are making ourselves respected. Which means that France must also develop a whole new strategy for relations with India. And whether the Americans like it or not. , that we speak differently from the Americans to the Chinese and that we also end the war with Mr. Putin’s Russia “, he said.
A rapprochement with the strong man of Russia is essential, according to him. “Let it be said very clearly that we want to push the Russians into the arms of the Chinese. Then there you will have a world imbalance that will be unparalleled”, he warned.
Does France really have the means for its diplomatic pretensions and is it not a second-rate power? “I do not agree. France is a country which has a seat on the UN Security Council. Incidentally, if I am president, there is no question of sharing it with anyone. No way!”, he warned. Xavier Bertrand says to himself “viscerally attached to this question of French independence which allows us to have an influence and a role which are unparalleled compared to many other countries.”