Isolationist France

Can the world no longer afford it? Or is the world better off without France trying to live its’ old international ways?

Dominique Moïsi noted in a recent essay:

France is not Italy—namely a country in which a government can fall because of its foreign policy. In fact, in France it is more likely that foreign policy does not even play a role in election campaigns. In the case of the recent elections, this fact sheds light on a paradoxic continuity. Our country is traditionally proud of its international status. Does France’s national identity not at least partially depend on its international identity? Was not the slogan “I am involved, therefore I am” for decades an expression of France’s relationship to international issues?

France’s citizens, however, have been emboldened through a campaign that more than ever has stressed individual demands (“What will France do for me?”) over collective ambitions (“What could we do for France?”). The international challenges of the day are increasingly brushed aside.

Some would rather say: Vive la Trance.