Mahesh: A very good afternoon, sir. I take this opportunity to thank you for agreeing to have this interactive session. We, as students of International Relations from Christ University, are more interested to hear insights from the EU perspective. So this session will have most of the questions revolving around France and its presence in the global arena.
The first question is a bit peculiar. France has a lot of overseas territories far away from its mainland. What is France’s response to Chinese aggression in the Pacific, especially when it is threatened in the same region where you have French Pacific Territories as well.
Dr Courmont: This is an alarming situation for all French territories in the Pacific. Not just for Papeete, Tahiti, but also for islands like Wallis & Futuna and New Caledonia. This issue has become even more serious after China’s colossal investments and infrastructure development projects in the Solomon Islands. In fact, France is taking steps to protect the massive Nickel reserves in New Caledonia so that the mining activities don’t hinder due to any threat by the Chinese from the neighbouring countries. Also, France emphasizes more on the protection of its sovereignty. Hence regular Naval exercises and increased cooperation with the USA and Australia in the Pacific will have check on the Chinese presence in the region.
Mahesh: After Macron resumes his Presidency for the 2nd term, what are the changes in foreign relations that we could expect from him, especially concerning his move in the ongoing Military Operation in Ukraine?
Dr Courmont: Bringing up peace in France through the establishment of harmony between the migrants and the French communities is his priority at present. Due to covid conditions and also the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, leading to a high cost of living and unemployment, he is majorly focused on domestic development. However, some of the conditions are consequences of what is happening in Ukraine, and he is very well aware of this. Close to 17% of France’s gas supply comes from Russia and that too from September; it was halted. To not be overdependent on Norway and the Netherlands for their expensive gas (being the sole suppliers after Sept 2022), Macron is trying to negotiate with Putin for peace talks with Ukraine. This is highly criticized by Zelensky, accusing Macron of isolating himself from this issue. But for Macron, compared to the stance of Olaf, Ursula or even Rishi Sunak, maintaining smooth relations with Putin is his preference.
Mahesh: Now that Britain has exited from the EU, what will be France’s move on relaxing Schengen Visa to attract businesses and labour force, being the only dominant player in the EU.
Dr Courmont: We French partially agree that after Britain’s exit, France can be influential in the EU economically & politically since a significant player is out of the forum. Presently, Germany is our healthy competitor, but when it comes to decision-making and enactment of policies, both nations have a slight undertone of domination in the EU. This states that both France and Germany have subtle competition in the issuance of Schengen visas. However, France’s influential power in the EU makes it an easy entry through Schengen. Although there is common cross-border trade tariffs across all the Schengen region countries, when it comes to immigration policies, despite being in the Schengen area, each country has its own rules. The concept of “Schengen Region” is mostly applicable only to inter-state trade. So, compared to Germany, France could encourage the labour force through its not stringent domestic immigration policies and not just based on the Schengen Visa regulations.
Mahesh: During your lecture, you pointed out that, till date, both the UK and France are healthy rivals. After Rishi Sunak came into power, how do you think the trajectory of the bilateral relations will go with respect to the outlook of the two leaders?
Dr Courmont: Frankly speaking, the response tends to be “Negative”. Utmost, there can be “No change” but wouldn’t incline with an overwhelming positive chemistry between Rishi and Macron. This is due to the contradictory ideas and the party’s notion that reflect on the bilateral relations. The British Conservative Party doesn’t really get along well with the French Renaissance Party. The last golden age of excellent bilateral relations was during Tony Blair’s leadership when the Labour Party had an upswing with a really good rapport between the two nations.
Mahesh: Thank you so much sir, for sparing your precious time with us. This interview did really enlighten us with ample information that we were unaware of. Thank you once again, sir.
Comments