France and NATO in the 1990s

The article presents the French policy towards NATO in the 1990s. It aims a t explaining why France started its approach to NATO in 1992 and why this a pproach must be seen as a continuation and not a break with traditional Fre nch policy. Maintaining international status has been a fundamental goal fo r French foreign policy ever since the end of the Second World War. This im plies that the change in French policy towards NATO in the 1990s can be con sidered more as an adaptation to the changes in the external environment th an as a departure from earlier policies. French policy towards NATO has dev eloped within two very different international contexts. Therefore, France has chosen other means to increase French influence in international societ y today than it did during the Cold War. Whereas independence was considere d to be the most efficient policy during the East-West conflict, co-operati on and integration seem to represent a better policy option for the 1990s.