A nation must think before it acts.
I n an otherwise stormy international climate, recent seasons have appeared to be balmy ones for the bilateral relationship between France and Germany. The Iraq war, however unsettling it has been for transatlantic relations in general, presented an extraordinary opportunity for the two states to celebrate and deepen their cooperation.
…[y]et things may not always be as they appear in this challenging bilateral relationship. To understand why this should be so, we need to come to grips with the changing nature of France’s German problem, or more accurately, problems.