France isn’t happy with Germany. Germany’s opposition to France’s efforts to resolve the Ukraine war has outraged the French leadership. Its blood is boiling over how Germany blindly followed directives from the White House. Enough is enough, France has now decided to go all out against Germany for fuelling a catastrophe on the continent.
The Minsk agreements which had earlier put an end to the Crimean war between Russia and Ukraine were negotiated by leaders from France and Germany. The effort brought peace to the European continent until US and NATO pushed Ukraine into the war. However, this time rather than putting efforts to end the war, Germany has continuously fuelled it. It has sent weapons and millions in financial aid to Ukraine. Just recently, a fresh shipment of weaponry, packets of winter clothes, and military gear were delivered to Ukraine by Germany. Moreover, the transfer of Iris-T SLM air defence system transfer has received official confirmation.
Germany follows orders from White House
Just after the war, Germany halted the certification of Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The decision wasn’t independent, it was taken after the direction from the White House. And this is clear from the fact that a few days before the certification was halted US President Joe Biden himself had declared that he’ll put an end to Nord Stream 2. The German government has given Ukraine military assistance totalling €1.20 billion ($1.16 billion) since the end of January. Despite the fact that Germany has only two days’ worth of ammunition on hand and is cutting back on its military spending this year, this continues to be the case.Further, the war has had a direct impact on Germany’s economy and industries. Germany’s economy is struggling with declining growth, increasing inflation and an impending recession; and if that happens, the rest of Europe will follow, leaving the top leaders unsure of how to react to the economic catastrophe.
Germany also faces a looming threat of deindustrialization after the cheap Russian gas on which its prosperity relied has stopped. Additionally, Germany despite knowing the importance of Nord Stream pipelines, rejected the offer of Putin to restart it. And this clearly hasn’t made its neighbour France happy.
Also Read: It’s official. US military and CIA sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines in a joint operation
France goes all out against Germany
In light of indications that France and Germany are becoming further apart on energy and defence, Emmanuel Macron postponed a meeting with Olaf Scholz. According to sources, France is “furious” with Berlin for prioritising the US and foreign weapons over EU defences. The €200 billion domestic energy aid programme by Germany is also a matter of concern for France.
An Elysée official said, “There is a common desire to have something more ambitious … on defence and how we align European sovereignty with the needs and choices that have been made and on energy questions to see with the Germans how we build a European sovereign strategy.” said an Ely official. Moreover, German officials have accepted the rift between the two countries. Steffen Hebestreit, Chancellor Scholz’s spokesman, acknowledged that “there are a number of different issues that we are dealing with at the moment… on which we have not yet reached a unified position.”
France isn’t also happy with joint defence programs, such as the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet, where the development has clearly lagged. Additionally, Mr. Macron stated that Scholz’s intention to implement a €200 billion assistance programme to shield his people and companies from skyrocketing energy prices, ran the danger of causing “distortions” across the bloc. If this slow pace continues, France will have no options left but to go with the defence projects on its own. It may also stop pumping the natural gas straight to Germany which it started just a week earlier as a part of a historic arrangement reached by both governments to support one another in addressing Europe’s energy.
France has already halted the Midcat gas project linking Portugal, Spain through France to Germany as it sees it as too costly and unnecessary. Given the history, you never know when these smaller rifts may spiral into a full-fledged war. Germany must stop following orders from the White House and start looking for its people and continent who have faced enough after the Ukraine war.
