French foreign policy : time for balance

Abstract

 The article offers a balance of French President Nicholas Sarkozy's foreign policy on the basis of his first year of government and of the presidency of the European Union, to be held by France the forthcoming six months. It deals with change and continuity, in other words, with what is new and what is old in the foreign policy of a nation that, independently of the incumbent government, continues to be strongly conservative and follows premises established by former president Charles De Gaulle during the 60s.The article focuses on Sarkozy's campaign speeches and particularly on his statement to French ambassadors at the Elysée, on 27 August 2007. Finally, it refers to Sarkozy's implementation of foreign policy