The Franco-German Friendship Treaty of 1963 began with a great disappointment for de Gaulle. Nevertheless, its significance remained immense. It provides for interconnections and routines that cushion estrangements to this day.
When the Élysée Treaty was signed 60 years ago today by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in the French presidential palace, the French president was pursuing goals that have long since been forgotten and are not usually mentioned in commemorative ceremonies. With this treaty, De Gaulle wanted to build a Europe that was independent of the United States in military and foreign policy terms under the leadership of France with the decisive support of the Federal Republic of Germany at the time. Therefore, three topics were regulated in this treaty: in great detail the military and foreign policy cooperation, the regular meetings of the governments and, furthermore, looking into the future, the language teaching in schools and the meeting of the French and German youth. Two other areas, on the other hand, were surprisingly not addressed from today’s perspective: economic and cultural cooperation.
The history of this treaty began with a failure. In its deliberations on the treaty, the Bundestag decided to preface it with a preamble invoking cooperation in NATO and with the United States. For de Gaulle, the treaty was thus a failure. A few months after the signing, he said in disappointment in the French Council of Ministers that German politicians wanted to turn the Élysée Treaty into „an empty shell. And why all this? Because German politicians are afraid of not groveling enough before the Anglo-Saxons.“
The treaty nevertheless retained great significance: it led permanently to regular meetings between members of the governments and parliaments of the two countries, even in times of estrangement such as the present. This routine cooled tensions and reduced estrangement. In addition, the Franco-German Youth Office was founded on the basis of this treaty, in which countless Franco-German youth meetings were organized. This was an important part of the close ties between French and German society, which also cushioned alienations between the two governments. The Élysée Treaty eventually became a lasting symbol of the particularly close French-German partnership and friendship. The Aachen Treaty of 2019, which was adopted as a renewal of the Élysée Treaty, has not been able to achieve the symbolic charisma of the Élysée Treaty.
The circumstances of cooperation have changed completely
The celebrations of the Élysée Treaty cannot make us forget that the circumstances of French-German cooperation have completely changed in the past 60 years. It is often forgotten today that France – unlike then – rarely claims to be the leading power in Europe, although it still possesses some of the characteristics of a great power, above all the permanent seat on the UN Security Council and the atomic bomb. Conversely, unlike in 1963, some German politicians today make the completely unrealistic and historically oblivious claim that Germany is the leading power in Europe. In doing so, they meet with little approval and incomprehension not only from the German public, but even more so from the European public.
Unlike in 1963, Franco-German cooperation today is only possible on an equal footing and at the same time urgently needed. Moreover, Franco-German responsibility today is far more extensive than it was when the Élysée Treaty was signed. It consists not only in bringing together the 27 member states of the European Union instead of the 6 member states of the European Economic Community and in developing major projects such as, most recently, the European Recovery Fund and negotiating them wisely and persistently with the many other EU members. Democracy in the member states has also had to be defended in recent years against the new populist, authoritarian governments.
The Franco-German partnership was never a purely bilateral affair
Today’s European policy is also incomparably broader. It consists not only of customs, trade and agricultural policy, as it did in 1963, but has long since become foreign policy, research policy, social policy, cultural policy, energy policy, since the Corona epidemic also health policy and now, in Russia’s war against Ukraine, military policy. These many policy areas involve many more conflicting interests for which laborious compromises have to be found. The geographical area of European and thus Franco-German responsibility has also changed completely. In 1963, German ideas of Franco-German responsibility were entirely limited to Western Europe. France thought in terms of larger spaces, but it was then facing the disintegration of its colonial empire. Today, by contrast, the European Union, unlike during the Cold War, also sees its area of responsibility in eastern Europe, including Ukraine, and in the Mediterranean region as far as sub-Saharan Africa in a completely different way than in 1963.
However, this does not mean that the celebrations of the Élysée Treaty lose their importance. On the contrary, two challenges remain the same even after 60 years: The Franco-German partnership was never a purely bilateral affair, but always revolved around the much larger Franco-German responsibility for Europe. Without Franco-German cooperation, Europe will not hold together. In the Élysée Treaty, Europe appeared only once, but in a prominent position. In addition, Franco-German cooperation was never a purely diplomatic alliance, but thrived on the close economic, cultural and social ties between the two countries. This is also expressed by the symbol of the Élysée Treaty. All in all, the symbol of the Élysée Treaty does not simply stand for glorious historical successes, but for renewed, urgent, European challenges to the French and, at present, above all to the German government.
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Kaelble held a chair in social history at the Humboldt University in Berlin until 2008. He is one of the most renowned German social historians.
Source: NTV