France plans for hegemony
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#Macron wants to give the #EU a military face and gather the continent’s resources. And he wants #France to be the agency of that power.
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1st
1st
End the EU!
Welcome back my friend and happy New Year I enjoyed watching your videos
Invasion of Iraq has been a disaster for the west, it has not been vindicated, it has strengthened outr enemies.
"While in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice, there is practically no similarity between theory and practice."
Worthy of the best contemporary poetry!
Nice one.
Best sentence I've heard in a long time
Common sense in long words smh
What does this really mean? English is my third language so reading that quote just gives me a brainfart.
As an eastern european, I have to say that american influence in here is way more popular compared to western european one. What happened in 2022 shows that due to similar regional interests, americans are willing to step in and help, while France, Germany, Italy and other western european states are hesitant, and willing to use Eastern Europe as a barganing chip to please Rusia
^^well said.
exactly im from england and whats the point in moving away from USA towards russia the USA influence is clearly benefiting everyone who complies for example poland has huge economic potential that is becoming a thing as it is growing so big it will reach the point where it pays more to the EU than it gains from it. poland went from a starving population under USSR to a future power of europe. the countries like france and germany are struggling right now because of their obsession of russia and also the fact USA would obliterate europe in a war lets be honest
as an american of italian heritage, I couldn't be more ashamed of italy's behavior during the past year. I'm also disappointed with germany and france. Germany, for becoming so reliant on russian energy despite us crying about it for the past 5 years, and france, for attempting to be friends with russia despite everyone's warnings. Macron calling Putin 50 times a week on the eve of the invasion, during the invasion while russians are bombing civilians, is just a really sad look. During this whole war my opinion of western europe has gone down, and my opinion of eastern europe has gone way up. Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Lativa, etc, I think they're better friends than the Western countries, with the exception of the UK. The Eastern europeans care about protecting each other, the Western ones are all selfish, especially when you see stuff like germany not even trying to pay for a military because it knows the US will protect it.
They are hesitant due to the lack of a common foreign policy. Btw germany has helped a lot
@@moonasha every state wants what is best for itself and is only selfish, for germany good relations with russia is a positive thing
I am a natural born Lithuanian, living in America, who is going to fight for the French Foreign Legion. Thank you❤️
French Foreign Legion is so tough, congratulation! I'm french, thank you to fight for our nation.
Merci. Tu es le bienvenu en France. ❤
As a French i can tell you that everyone see macron (every president since Sarkozy in 2007) as a pro-american
People need to move past the idea that you have to be anti-American to be pro-Europe.
Tellement vrai
Ce qui est totalement faux. C'est ce qu'essaient de vous faire croire les opposants.
Macron s'est rapproché de la Russie plus que jamais avant l'invasion de l'Ukraine, puis il a fait affaire avec la Chine. C'est une vu à long terme. Mais cette vision de Macron en tant que pro-american est fausse et montre une méconnaissance en géopolitique.
Oui un pantin des états unis même
As French I see him as just a smart guy but not enough smart to play with Old 🦈.
It's interesting watching this straight after a deep dive into 6th generation fighter development. France views itself as the centre of the European arms industry. The rest of Europe views France as an oddball that goes off and does its own thing rather than sticking with joint programs.
France puts sticks in Europe's wheels constantly while saying they are it's biggest champions. Heck, the brits made two advanced fighter jets with Germany and Italy while France was in preliminary studies and then dropped out, decided not to make one with similar characteristics (the Tornado) but tried to make something similar to the second plane (the Eurofighter) with the Rafale.
It's telling that the one country that was always at odds with the EU was a better partner than France.
With the 6th gen fighter jet, France wanted Dasault to hold all the patents it could while Spain and Germany put 66% of the cash, and apparently only the war prevented such draconian terms to become reality.
It Also Explains why Germany bought the F35. Its a way of pressuring France, that doesn't want to become reliant on the US industry and is only making an advanced 4th gen jet. while the germans make a 4th gen fighter as well while buying a 5th gen
Well France doesn’t really need help to build successful weapon systems. Excellent fighters (Mirage, Rafale), aircraft carriers, destroyers, nuclear submarines, MBTs, APCs, satellites, missiles, etc.
The only reason France seeks partnerships is money.
@@joseanl Tu comentario es muy poco informado, para cambiar con los españoles...
Francia tiene un caza de generación 4,5 bajo nomenclatura impuesta por el marketing EEUU para salir bien. En realidad el Rafale tiene capacidades de generación 5 como "supercruise" (que no tiene el F35) o "IRST" (que no tiene el F22). Al Rafale lo único que le falta es ser furtivo, mientras solo es "discreto", pero también más furtivo que el caza de generación 5 de China por ejemplo. La fronteras teóricas de la generación 5 son muy ambiguas. Pero en práctica, el Rafale es el caza más vendido en el mundo en 2022 y es por algo. 😉
En este contexto, Dassault se ve como el fabricante más capable de ser lider sobre el programa de generación 6. Lo que ha sido difícil de reconocer al principio (Airbus...por favor...a Airbus le falta muchas tecnologías claves...).
Tampoco queremos un avión Tetris con una ala en Dinamarca, una rueda en Polonia y el motor en Irlanda. Ya vimos el resultado con el Eurofighter...
Últimamente, tampoco queremos transferir toda la tecnología a Alemania que luego nos traicionan como ya lo hemos visto con otros programas. Son muy agresivos económicamente...
Lo que imaginamos es tener el leadership y conservar tecnología donde somos mas avanzados. Mientras Alemania puede hacer lo mismo en otros programas (por ejemplo el programa para un nuevo tanque). Y la cosa se equilibra al nivel global de la relación. España es hostaje porque no creo que sea más avanzada que Francia y Alemania en cualquier programa significativo. Disculpa...es la realidad. Tal vez podemos equilibrar la relación con otros sectores económicos...
Será difícil encontrar un punto mediano para satisfacer a todo el mundo. El Senado francés ha desbloqueado dinero para investigar un caza de generación 6 francés y no perder más tiempo. 🤷🏻♂️
@@edouardmontfort7816 el Tifon tiene tanto supercrucero como el IRIS-T. Lo que Francia tampoco puede esperar es que les demos las llaves y el dinero. Mi país España tiene experiencia fabricando los Scorpene franceses y nos cansamos al final.
Las ganas de ir por libre son lo que tienen. No puedes clamar por Europa pero querer sacar todo el beneficio de unos desarrollos caros, otros apoyan con dinero pero tu te quedas con todo. La guerra va a agilizar esto de todas formas ya que Francia no puede afrontar el desarrollo sola y España y Alemania pueden cansarse e ir a integrarse con el Tempest
@François Calvaresi true, im actually kinda miffed why they'd want to challenge American hegemony. Post world War 2 America has built a global market everyone can take part in which is allowed only by being backed by American military power. If you want to go your own....you could always build 12 air craft carriers of your own and police your own shipping lanes
"A country has allies, friends, never!" -General de Gaulle
France will obviously give priority to its own interests, but it is not the kind of country to break economic or military alliances and betray its allies.
Yes, not like USA...
@@J0HN_D03 you have no clue of what you are talking about, France is USA's puppet
Non, le General de Gaulle a dit :« Un grand pays n’a pas d’amis. Les hommes peuvent avoir des amis, pas les hommes d’État. »
Henry John temple a en revanche dit : « We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow. »
Unfortunatly we did a bit with our allies tchecoslovkia and Poland in 1940 without any attack against nazis. That s why it s so difficult for midle and estern europa to trust us nowadays.
France is the nation that can help make the EU 🇪🇺 a strong military force viva la France 🇫🇷 from Canada 🇨🇦
No one here wants them in power.
Germanys energy subsidies are only 30bn. 200bn was a whole package of industrial policy and only the maximum budget.
Also France had made such subsidies months before Germany did so.
They have an maximum price for gas and electricity for years
This was really not well researched indeed. Also the sale of a part of a terminal in Hamburg is overexaggerated very much. It means basically nothing.
@@wilhelmtellmemore9543 would you be so nice and eleborate a bit? As a German i don't like it when our stuff gets sold outright. Why not let them rent it for a decade or two?
@@highroller6244 Alle Investments von Seiten Chinas zu streichen wäre suizidal. Wir sind aktuell so abhängig von China dass wir uns einen Handelskrieg überhaupt nicht leidten können. Deswegen wäre es sinnvoll zumindest systemkritische Kompomenten zu schützen, also bspw. kritische Infrastruktur oder den massenhaften Ausverkauf mittelständischer Unternehmen mit Patenten. Mit unter 25 Prozent hat China meines Wissens aber keine Stimmrechte im Terminal womit die Investition zumindest in meinen Augen unprolematisch ist. Solche Investment sind eigentlich sogar wünschenswert, weil Geld ins Land kommt ohne dass wir ein zu großes Risiko der Abhängigkeit eingehen.
Natürlich wäre es wünschenswert mit Länder wie China gar nichts mehr zu tun zu haben aber dafür sind wir leider schon zu abhängig.
Den Verkauf spezifisch finde ich nicht zu schlimm.
@@highroller6244 Hamburg port has 17 Terminals. The Chinese shipping company bought 24.9% of ONE of those 17 Terminals. In return they will priorities shipping to that location. China has similar deals with basically every country in Europe.
(One does not need to see the staircase, to take the first step) this man's words are getting greater every episode
France is the guy taking this staircase without knowing if it leads to the 30th floor or the parking lot.
@@papertowelthe6th105 or to the basement.
France is Like Russia, they want make new global Order but Nobody is cool about it. Eastern Europe will always choose US over Germany or France
Maybe the staircase is missing, and the disused lavatory has a sign on the door saying beware of the lion.
As with most of Caspian Report's pithy quotes, this one is unattributed to the original speaker, which was Martin Luther King in this case.
The entire flaw in this plan is that it depends on the Russian people to be motivated to work towards their own rational best interests. The countries bordering Russia understand how impractical it is to plan around that. This is why you see Eastern EU leaning more towards the US now, they see the Western EU as having delusional plans that don't match the reality of the situation, and they believe they will be the ones to suffer for it if they agree to the plans.
Because the US loves Eastern Europe so much. They are always willing to be a pet dog to someone, whether the USSR, US, 3rd Reich Germany, with no capacity for independence.
Just like with France, Russian rational best interest can also be seen as short and long term. The short term rational best interest was proven in the last decade. Long term wise I guess they got fed up being used by us (EU) as a fuel/energy/raw materials bargain bin. The question is if being China's bitch is better for them than being our bitch.
Russians do have a way of neglecting their self-interest in favor of strongmen leaders.
Every nation in the history of the world has pursued their national interests, what are you talking about ?
@@alesiswhite9010 Nationalism often means not rational, and Russia has just started a war, so, I'm not sure.
I really respect Frances ambition, and it’s lack of transparency when going about securing itself by the way of leveraging its power
US indirect dominance over Europe seems like something that Europeans like to talk about shaking off but not actually do. Mostly cause the risks outweigh the reward and it’s mad expensive not because they can’t.
Pretty much, the Germans and French love to go on about it 24/7 but most of the bloc aren't interested because, well, why bother? The status quo is beneficial to Europe as is.
Or maybe because Europeans are not a monolith and it depends on who exactly are you questioning. France and Germany have no spine and I gladly remain with US - person from the Baltics.
Ermmm….no actually, they…..”CAN’T” do a thing about it….
Not sure about dominance. EU has no interest in challenging US. So I don't really understand what do people mean by dominance. What US is doing to dominate EU? I haven't seen any examples of US using its power to do something we don't want to or, its against our values...
well for the Poles its much more simple than that, we do not trust the French or the Germans, the French have a history of selling us out and the Germans have a history of trying to dominate us, it really is as simple as that, Poland will remain a staunch USA ally
French are constantly annoyed that US has outsized presence in Europe yet they do so little to secure their influence. You can not be super power by scheming alone. Even Turkey is more successful in that regard.
Idunno, France is pretty successful in its former African colonies.
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs have you checked the news lately. Russian PMCs have been pushing French out of Africa for last few years.
@@DDD-sl7xp But, they're still using the CFA. They're still beholden to French energy and mining companies. And they're still speaking French as their most prominent language for international business and foreign relations.
Haram groups notwithstanding, France is still eating their lunch.
@@normanclatcher the key word is still. While China and Russia double their efforts, France slowly backs down. If France wants to preserve and expand its influence stuff must be done. You can not just stay a major power by talking about how great you used to be.
@@DDD-sl7xp I mean, I think it's worked out well enough for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece... 💀
France is the last western european country to not have entierly given up its geopolitical future to the goodwill of the United-States, its quite obvious that at its core, it is the reason why they annoy lots of people. Its not so much about what they do, its about what they do that the other don't. It is striking to me how France and India, although in extremely different situations are nonetheless very close in that regard, two old historical continental powers coming out of a decaying cycle looking to outlive the post modern age in a way that is theirs.
No it's not that, France can't let go from their holdings from the times of the colonization and still has cheap and forced labor in Africa.
France is just not taking serious within the EU, because they are a joke.
They don't work, they protest more.
That is bs. The geopolitical interests are just really different. France for is example is not just in Europe. There is also a part of France in south america the size of austria + several oversea territories. There are also the former colonies and France getting involved intheir internal politics in the last century....
As another former colonial powerhouse the UK is somewhat compareable. Germany, Italy etc have a different history and different interests though. Sometimes interests align, sometimes they dont. Recent examples Afghanistan vs Iraq war vs Syria. The future of Europe. Macron and Merkel vs eastern european countries
France is selfish, nationalist when it benefits them, pro EU when it benenfits them
France is the last Colonial Empire.
France is bigger than Brazil, if you count maritime possessions.
@@DavidCelestialKnight That is simply not true:
France Metropole: 551 695 km2
France Outre-mer: 120 396 695 km2
Total: 672 051 km2
Brazil: 8 515 767 km2
Brazil is 12.6x bigger than France.
I think it would be great to see a comprehensive review of French national power, trends effecting its growth or retreat globally, and how it affects EU, USA, China, Turkey, India, regional players like most Muslim countries where France has been an alternate weapons supplier.
OK so rule #1. To build an Empire, you need an Emperor, or Tsar/Kaiser/Sultan...
Macron.. isn't that. He certainly is no Napoleon.
The end.
@@goofygrandlouis6296 ?
France today is a Muslim countrie !
@@goofygrandlouis6296Macron will never lead the EU he knows it very well and he may even be dead before the EU reformed.
@@le_hardi6984not that much but we do have a small minority of muslim especially in Paris.
I am from Poland. I see current conflict in Russia as win for US and loose for FR and DE. If one of those European leaders would spend half as much as US to protect UA and repel RU then we would not have such a clear winner as US.
I think that if Russia and France decided to share Europe's influence, they could be a fully independent Continent.
But that means that the Anglos (Mainly the UK) and the Chinese loss influence.
So that will hardly happen.
Also many countries have still a huge desire of revenge against Russia.
The USA know that and is using that.
If that is good or bad, that is up of the Europeans to decide. I am just an external observer.
Witam! I'm also from Poland, and while I'm all for EU integration, any try by France or Germany to dominate would mean that I would be against the project with my hands and legs. There is no chance I, my family and friends would ever agree for anything like that. I believe there are more people who share my suspicion if it comes to France trying to 'dominate'. No chance. Reason? Fairly simple. EU countries like to be culturally independent. One country imposing something on another has been always ending up in a war on the continent.
As an American this war is still a loss for us. Just less then active Boots on the ground. Best would be for the USA to leave NATO and stop being the world police
@@RandMantearTheDragon I'm not sure whether you are a true American or a russian troll but USA leaving NATO would mean end of USA hegemony in the world. It would also mean China overtaking the world. It would be a catastrophe for US and EU economies. Economy of US would be shrinking drastically in such scenario and geopolitical position would be in jeopardy. Imagine what if China started to take Taiwan, and influence south to it. Then it would block US and EU. Are you nuts?
Lastly, US is a biggest winner of ongoing war. Russia is weakened at the least possible expense for US. US hegemony is kept in place. China must rethink attacking Taiwan due to united West and more powerful than ever NATO. US leaving NATO would be as dumb as UK leaving EU - and trust me bro, that was the dumbest thing of this century.
@@Yha1000itz there is no chance that any country in Europe would agree to be under French or russian influence. Most of countries hate or at least dislike russia. Almost all countries are sceptical of France at least. Poland and a few countries are hardly the only French allies. No chance.
2:49 start of video
Gentleman and a scholar
Tysm for the time stamp
Hero.
im dead I didnt notice how long it was almost a quarter of the video.
Saved me around 2 minutes, thank you
"But while in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there's practically no similarity between theory and practice"
Wew, lad
It's a famous quote from Albert Einstein
I thought he was channelling Bilbo Baggins with that one.
That's a little confusing😵
@@terrynicol2098 yeah I was thinking the same thing 😂
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve"
What? 🤔
The quote mentioned in this video reminds me of another one:
"If it doesn't work in theory but it works in practice, it still works!"
Call the French whatever you want, but whilst you're busy making fun of them, they're hard at work playing you like a fiddle
Hard @ work? France have many jobless people.
I really hope France's goals of the European project are successful. As an American, it's great to see people with a good set of ideals on the global stage. To insure democracy and freedom globally, the Americas and Europe must work together.
Nah bro I hope it fails
🤣🤣🤣 Good one. America owns Europe. America says jump, and Europe asks "how high?". For Europe to become succesful, they must treat the USA as a threat and do business with Russia.
France ain’t a leader they have nothing to be a leader
@@yurichtube1162 Tell me, which of those two outside powers is currently invading?
@@dawnfire82 Check his recent comments if you expect a good faith response
If the Macron - Putin Meeting taught me anything, it's that France both over estimated it's influence, position, and how much respect they would get from Russia, as well as their lack of understanding for Russia's interests and possibly the interests of other countries.
I don't think France will ever be able to gain it's perceived image of a greater EU with France at the helm if they rely on Russia because throughout it's history Russia has always been skeptical and untrusting of it's neighbors due to the multiple invasions throughout it's history. It especially is untrusting now with NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe since 1991. Therefore it would never agree to this idea or concept by any other European country. And even if they agreed in some form, they would try to figure out a way to turn the tables on all of Europe.
The stupidity which the French leadership thought they could get Russia into the fold in honestly shocking and even more laughable. It seems like they are in their own little world when thinking of any of these ideas.
This is not a criticism of the video. I think it is well made and makes sense for what I have seen France do in the past. This is a criticism of French leadership and any French mindset that they could sway Russia to their point of view.
Although i agree with the bubble of french elite, it is more so the fault of other european elites who do not trust each other, all to the benefit of US and Russia
Best comment!!!
You may be true, but still I think in this case Macron was genuine in his concerns and taking this vulneral role while he must have seen the risk being disgraced at least to some extent (perhaps not to the extent actually portrayed during the visit) actually imo shows he did realize France (alone) was not the world power. Rather he might have thought of being on the forefront of 'normal' diplomacy, and that may well be pedant as is, but since it was so contrasted by Putins behaviour, it showed that abnormality very clearly. In France, ' comme il faut" is very important, so the disgrace may well have rejoined the French people. One should not underestimate the power of that.
We have a very arrogant executive branch indeed!
As long as russia has imperialistic ambitions, there is no reason to try to integrate it into Europe.
0:21 As a Pole, I believe that the strategy of drawing Russia into the European system is a key issue that may lead to the end of the European Union. The war in Ukraine changed everything. After what we have seen, countries like Poland, the Baltic states, Sweden and Finland will not allow cooperation with Russia in any way, because it is a threat to their independence and security. The French and Germans do not understand this, for them the Russians are simply business partners with cheap natural resources.
the russians are more like a mafia the rich kids keep buying their drugs from, while their neighbors get robbed
I think the reason why France doesn't understand that is because France doesn't share a border with the Russians or the Russians allies like Belarus so whenever there is any issue France can just grandstand openly saying that they condemn it but all the while privately they're still saying hey you'll still sell me that gas and oil won't you Russia?
@Wilhelm Eley You still do not understand, Russia will gladly help the West in this "strategic autonomy", but they will put the pricetag on their help
This price will be putting Central and Eastern Europe under their direct or indirect control. They make that very clear. I for one do not wish to become a puppet of Moscovian mongrels to satisfy big dreams of western geopoliticians that treat me and my country like a sacrifical lamb
"Do you want a Russia aligned with China on our doorstep?
Do you want Russian resources to go to China or Europe?"
I want them to not be at all, put into the corner and weak, so weak that it will not matter who they align themself to becouse they will focus on not collpasing
@Wilhelm Eley Appeasing Russia to draw it that far from China likely means throwing us Poles under the bus. To this I say: fuck you. I'd rather die than be a Kremlin serf.
I'd rather China became the next superpower and had comparable influence to America than have Russia pull the strings in Eastern Europe. The Chinese haven't oppressed my people for centuries, I can live with them. They represent 5000 years of civilization, Russia is nothing but violence and backwardness.
@Wilhelm Eley Europe will never offer a viable military position against China or Russia/China, it had better keep an alliance with the USA or fall apart as the senior EU members scurry to change their allegiances as the threats grow. EU has no military or economic strength on its own, and can never make any decisions without problems. Think of the Covid-19 vaccine debacle. Everyone was to have an allocation, so Germany went behind the scenes and sorted out its own supplies of vaccines contrary to any agreement.
I can understand the French wanting their own strategic autonomy but why would they expect other European nations to let France assume leadership of that. The EU is only so unified and if European nations already have a good relationship with the Americans why would they allow France to assume that role of dominance. Also, I can see the Eastern European nations being very wary of letting Russia into a position of power and influence in Europe. They have far too much experience with Russia being the villain.
Yeah, I'd imagine that all European nations are in favor of European autonomy in theory, but if France was to become some type of de facto leader of Europe in the process, we'd just be putting a lot of effort into switching from one overlord to another. Not a very motivating plan, especially for eastern European nations that stand to lose a lot if decoupling from USA goes wrong.
the video explained this, it is in the interest of the EU, because that would get them out of the conflict between the US and China, and also it would prevent an alliance between China and Russia that would definite become more of a thread not to their entire hegemony but to those eastern countries since a superpower Russia would fear less to lose something by expanding their influence over them. And either way the EU is already controlled by France and Germany, so in that sense it's nothing really new
@@el_equidistante russia will never agree to being side piece. they might be amicable with west eu but they want eastern one for themselves. west is only a cash cow for russia to fund their army. if there will be option, russia would easily turn on france's hegemony. france is just being very delusional if they think they can be only one in charge and rest of the states will follow.
@@xangry2834 first of all I never said it's the correct plan, I said that's the logic behind it. Second, France would not be in charge, as the video said Germany is also at the center and as I said before they already are the hegemonic powers in the EU, what's a fantasy it's thinking any other country could be the leading figure given the current economic and political circumstances. Third, France is not necessarily delusional about Russia, because as I said before, from the possible developments having them join their organization is their best chance to minimize the risk, as the rest of the options imply a worse outcome, namely Russia still intruding in eastern europe backed up by another superpower (China) and the possibility of a catastrophic war.
Because Americans don't have Europe's best interests in mind we need to stop being slaves??? 😅
We need to unify Europe for europeans.
"One does not need to see the staircase to take the first step" loving your quotes
I would LOVE a video about the geopolitics of the Benelux nations of Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In the triangle of Germany, France and United Kingdom its position is certainly something to make a video about.
Belgium and the Netherlands have some common ground, both in culture, economics and politics, but the first leans more towards France, the latter to Germany - and the U.S has its own interests as well. Also hi-tech, harbors and the advanced and dense internet-network makes it a strategic zone.
"but the first leans more towards France"
Only the French-speaking regions really do. Wallonia is the south, French-speaking region of Belgium. It has a smaller population than Flanders (3.5 vs 6.5 million) and has been performing quite poorly economically since the 80s when most heavy industry left the region. The region has always received money transfers from Flanders, but now heavily relies on them; currently they amount to 7 billion a year. The political divide can also be seen, in Wallonia the socialists are in power, whilst Flanders leans more to the right.
So more correct would be: Flanders and the Netherlands have a lot of common ground. And Wallonia, though also sharing a lot of culture with the rest of the Low Countries, leans more towards France.
Brussels is an even far more complicated matter. Brussels relies a lot on Flanders (many Flemings work in Brussels), though has been heavily Frenchified and is the most cosmopolitan city of Europe due to migration. Some speak of a city-state mentality, whilst many Flemings feel like it has been stolen through language politics and migration and many Walloons want to further integrate it into Wallonia. It's a sensitive topic. Though it surely leans more to France as well.
As for the Flemish stance in the France vs. Germany matter, Flanders is more in between (and perhaps slightly more to Germany even), especially since the last 10-20 years, due to parties like the NVA. In fact, in some cases there's even an seeming aversion towards France. Only the south of the province of West-Flanders leans truly towards France and that's mostly due to economic factors (Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, which is a Eurometropolis).
As a result, on the federal level France might barely come out on top, but the internal division is be very much visible.
"the latter to Germany"
As for the Netherlands. Leaning towards Germany... well, yes, but no. Not for internal EU politics, at least. In that sense, the Netherlands mostly joined forces with the UK, which generally opposed the Franco-German axis. Since Brexit, however, countries like the Netherlands - I'm refering to the Frugal Four - saw a general lack of force to stand up to this new dominant force within the EU. And that is very much an interesting matter.
"Also hi-tech, harbors and the advanced and dense internet-network makes it a strategic zone."
Yes. The two biggest ports of Europe are located here; Rotterdam (by far the biggest though) and Antwerp, with Amsterdam being fourth and many other major ports too, also in neighbouring regions (e.g. Hamburg, 3rd).
The region lies in the Blue Banana and can be described as the historical doppelganger of Northern Italy.
@@ewoudalliet1734 I love how both of you completely ignored talking about Luxembourg :'-)
Smurfs do not have geopolitical interests!
@@ewoudalliet1734 Awesome post! Thanks for the insight! :)
@@ewoudalliet1734 pls stop being stupid. Wallonia received 7 billion from Flanders since 2012 it isnt the case
It doesn't help as well when a lot of eastern European states believe France would throw them under the bus at the first sign of aggression. Quite literally as what you stated with the UK showing reliability France seems to bend over backwards on a diplomatic solution which doesn't go over well in the east.
France as no interest in making war with russia. Only the anglo US is benefiting from it. Russia allied with europe would beat them, that's why.
They would, they have a history of it and during the invasion of Ukraine they and Germany have consistently been talking about making "Overtures" to Russia IE Ukraine ceding half its country.
Well the exact same thing happened in WW2. Britain was reliable and France wasn’t.
@@CeruleanSword Britain was protected because it was an island. During WW2 France entered the war as soon as Poland was attacked.
@@nojoke1976
Britain and France entered the war at the exact same time. Britain’s plan was a reliable plan, the French plan was completely naive. It’s not Britain’s fault that France can’t construct an effective strategy to protect France, but British strategy protected Britain, and eventually liberated Europe.
For third time are US saving our ass in Europe in last 110 yrs, meantime Macron makes another call to Kremlin....
It will be difficult for France to achieve a leadership position when it is not economically dominant. It will always be a junior partner to Germany, and over time the centre of Europe will gravitate towards the eastern states of the EU as they grow. Poland will be wary of an EU under any greater French influence.
demographic dynamics could change this in the future
German economy relies heavily on its industry export which has been massively fueled up for years by cheap russian gas. France doesn't have this problem as it massively uses its own nuclear energy. In context of crisis (like wars currently) the rise in energies' prices affect german economy. That is mostly why Germany has entered recession last year...
There is a soft power factor that the French kinda overlook in their grand designs - nobody in Europe really likes them. They like to talk big about integration, but when push comes to shove, they only protect their own interests, be it agriculture subsidies, energy crisis, joint military missions and R&D projects. They are largely viewed as a nation incapable of compromise, which is somewhat detrimental in a leadership position, especially when you're trying to create a sort of a confederation of 25+ nations.
France always comes off as exceptionalist to the point of hubris. No different from the US or the UK in regards to its “we’re so cool you guys. Our culture is superior”.
@@local2217 and this is exactly why no one will ever accept your "leadership" int he EU. And ignore most of your ideas, like common european army. This is why Poland cancelled few years ago big military contract with France and focused on the US and Korea
Don't forget, Macron wanted EU to handle Putin with silk gloves. This pissed off many countries sharing a border with Russia.
In short, it made France look like a back stabber.
@@local2217
There's hardly anything superior in French or English culture with that of our "peasant" countries' cultures. It was the Greeks (and Italians) that are at the core of modern European values.
It was the Russians that taught you to take a bath more than once every month. Fun fact: back in the days, western Europeans made fun of us, eastern Europeans, because we took more baths, I shit you not! No matter what happens, we're always "backward".
The only things in which you were/are superior is the military, scheming and treachery. Hence your large empires and your illusions of being "superior". The Mongols had a large empire too.
Even socially you are behind us. Those things - women's equality and anti-racism? We fought against this last century. While you were wondering should women have the same rights as men, the Russians sent women into space.
And currently, what's left of your "superior" culture's legacy - a decadent culture in which people are running away and coming here because they are looking for traditional family values. I personally know a Swiss guy that wants to get a citizenship for my "peasant" country, because, except corruption, everything is better here - society, values, nature, culture. He isn't the only one.
Despite all of that, you can see how Poland, Hungary and all the other "peasant" countries are still mocked and pressured to accept western liberal values of modern day feminism, political correctness and all that shit, which makes your countries insufferable to begin with.
@@RabbitShirak also, even German companies pulled from russia. But not french ones, Bonduelle russia event sent new year packages to russian soldiers, wishing them victory. Sicne February, I'm boycotting every french company. It is working, in Poland they had big supermarket chain, their ravenues dropped almost 40%
You're missing the rather crucial point of French hypocricy. The chinese have stakes in the ports of Dunkirk, Le Havre, Nantes and Marseille. So typical "rules for thee, but not for me".
There's a difference between holding a minority share and being the outright owner of a company...
Dunkirk is in Belgium.
@@answerman9933 Uhh, no? Googling it takes like 5 seconds lol
Bruh do some research instead of some spiteful nonsense
@@LiosProsum Dunkirk is righteous Belgian clay 💪🏻 🇧🇪
This may be the reason why france and India are allies
There is so much so wrong in this video. Unbelievable.
I used to wonder why the government here in the US took such issue with France during the gulf war. Especially since they gave plenty of air time to "freedom fries" without ever explaining what the real issue was. This video explains why.
Antiamericanism is the one thing the French and the Germans can always agree on. Which is why, behind closed doors, both see NATO almost as an US occupation force and both have actively been trying for decades to get rid of US-troops on their soil, also there were a lot of top brass and people in high places both in Paris and Berlin secretly hoping for a quick Russian victory in Ukraine like the one in Georgia to get back to business as usual asap and prevent even more US involvement on the continent.
The fact that even the french knew that the US was possibly lying and called them out for it, only to be mocked, speaks volumes.
@@mnk9073 Germans aren't anti American mate, there are 70,000 U.S Troops in Germany right now.
@@mnk9073 This is not exactly true. Germany is not nearly antiAmerican as France. Germany as a whole has not desired US troops to leave since it would destabilize their government, place them under the threat of old enemies in Russia, and open the question of German re-armament. France has always resented the US because it feels entitled to rule.
American media is an arm of the state. There's nothing "independent" about it as they all love to pat themselves on the shoulder about.
Please fix: scholz didn't just sell a quarter of the Hamburg port. It's 24.9% of ONE container terminal (just a small part of the port) and scholz actually brought the number down from the long planned 35% which would have given China more influence. Also, almost every other big port in Europe sold way more which is okay since it's a normal thing for big container companies and ports.
Thanks for pointing this out. I won’t share it further just becouse of such falsehoods. It is in the details!
the power was also limited. the chinese company can earn money, but they have zero say regarding the companies leadership and politics
This is correct, PAtur
Unfortunately, optics matter. German Social Democrats were good at it during Willy Brandt, but not so much after the reunification.
Germans are still not to be trusted, too close to Russia 🇷🇺
Any References?
The biggest obstacle is European nations unwillingness to spend on military and collaborate to achieve strategic autonomy. Too many influences and competing objectives.
Based French European empire.
Errors for Germany:
- The Chinese bought 24,9% of one (!) terminal, not the entire harbour.
- Energy is being subsidized with 30 bln, not 200 (thats the entire packet).
So what? Germany will become a mere hub for chinese goods all the same within 30 years. Just like all of Europe.
Much of Europe wants "Defense Autonomy" but even with an aggressive Russia, isn't willing to make it happen. French desires is more from ego than pragmatism. Even the US wants to pivot its focus to the Pacific but the EU isn't willing/able to fill the power gap yet.
US focus on Ukraine proves the opposite. I don't think US has no problem with Europe increasing its defensive capabilities AS LONG as they never challenge the US aspirations in Europe and elsewhere. They want Europe to remain under their influence.
Neither the EU nor European national elites are unified in a desire for autonomy. It's misleading to say that "they" are not willing to make it happen, when some factions very much are while others are directly opposed to it.
There's a contradiction in what you've pointed out. If the US is going to pivot to the Pacific someone will need to replace them on the defence of Europe. It can be by the means of the EU or other means. Either way taking steps towards defence autonomy is pragmatism more than ego.
If Ukraine wins, it will be massively armed and together with Poland and the three seas initiative it will form a powerful military ally to the US in Europe. Then it can pivot to Asia, knowing Russia and Germany can be slowed down if needed.
@@user-nt3vt7rr1n Yes, AGGRESSIVE russia.
I just love the quotes you pick and how you weave them into your video essays, good stuff.
There is an error in the graphics at 4:35. As of 1.1.2023, Croatia is a member of the Eurozone and should therefore be in the circle closest to the centre.
Difference from France with other is that UK is totally aligned on US and follow them in all adventures of the US with obediance. Germany has a lot of money but is fully dependant on others, US for army and Russia for energy, and has a huge army not even able to send any troops anywhere on its own.
The only power that stay in Europe is France with UN veto and nuke power, independance in energy power and places all around the world.
Sure US can't stand it neither Russia do.
Germany has dropped to ZERO % of ru**ian gas usage as of the end of 2022. btw just a headsup mordor is not providing jack shit anymore for eu
You left china out
They all need to return our ancient artifacts.
The UK and US are close allies . The UK is a nuclear power and Security Council veto power and has more military bases around the world than France and has a larger military budget than France
as an American I am happy that France has all of those things
There are cultural factors at play as well. France was once to the world what the US is today - the world's central superpower. There's always been a sentiment within France based on the belief that France should still have this role.
Edit:
To clarify, France was *poised* to become the world's central superpower as the US is today. French influence was primarily based in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Science, philosophy, literature, and arts were perhaps the main French exports which continue to influence many aspects of Western culture and tradition. French became a common language in order for other peoples to learn from these products of French academic institutions, which were renown for their quality and innovativeness.
Napoleonic France was perhaps the peak of French military dominance relative to other military powers. However, it was not without competition. The inability to maintain this relative dominance arguably set France back in terms of its ability to project power globally and _secure_ its position as the world's central global superpower.
Well, also in Portugal, then we lose to Morrocco in the world cup and that remind us how the country hasn't been a superpower since the 16th century or so. Maybe Macron needs one of those reality checks once in a while.
Yeah that’s what’s know as delusional. What language everyone speaking ☕️
@@dinismantas7265We? There were no french in France's team.
France has never been a central superpower. Britain made sure of that lol
@@Anglo_Browza According to military jargon, mostly French. Napoleon (and France) was kind of a big deal 200 years ago.
The EU is already fracturing, even as a mostly financial institution. the UK left, and member states are chafing against one another amid inflation. I’m not saying it isn’t possible, but there would be a lot of hurdles, and I don’t think France is societally stable enough to be the the next world police.
Westerners like French are always smart and always right ON PAPER!
A unified Europe all the way east to Russia is such a romantic notion. Very French. haha
It was Napoleon's project... And it was thwarted by the British.
@@markaguilera493 Hitler wanted something similar as well.
@@khaldrago911 True. A Germano centric continental power.
@@khaldrago911 bruh, even USA uses CIA to flip governments to favor them so every nation does it out of interest. Those who lose are just considered villains.
USA was buddies with USSR when fighting Nazis but when they became the only two powers because british empire died out too. They started competing with US as victor.
@@gabbar51ngh wrong tense - we USED to use the CIA. It’s illegal to do so now. Countries have friendships based on common interests, just like us humans and when those interest don’t line up, they go their own separate ways.
I think Peter Zeihan articulated it quite wel
France has the geography to run its own system and it's always maintained its own system even though doing so is costly in the age of globalization
From that lens you can see their rationale in doing all these
France is probably trying to maintain its own system and leverage the EU to magnify it's influence
Zeihan makes bold predictions, and he sounds very convincing with his presentations, but I am not sure whether he really believes his own predictions.
If I were really certain of my own predictions on the global economy and geopolitics, I wouldn't be telling anyone, but rather I would borrow as much money as I could and make all the right investments, and cash out at the right time and disappear.
The more accurate one can predict, the better the decisions one can make.
Truth be told, there are way more unpredictable factors that affect the global economy and geopolitics that most predictions (by anyone) turn out to be wrong. He might be right on a few, short term predictions, but you gotta remember that a broken clock is also right twice a day.
Nevertheless, Zeihan is entertaining to listen to, because his predictions reflect his way of thinking.
@@thepunisher2988 That guy's a clown. Who says Argentina will be a superpower with a straight face?
zeihan is Goebels's second coming. lots of stuff he says doesn't match the reality. he seems to be enjoying his role though.
@@lerymisandari4015 Haha you might be right. I have a feeling that he is contracted by the Feds to shape the public's perception of the current global affairs. I watch him for the theatrics, because I figure it can be applied in other areas.
Macron is just talk. with no walk. France should know its place, just like every country. And Macron has an ego problem. Don't pay attention. He's a goner anyway. French guy speaking.
Dont put Macron, vision,plan, Strategy in the same sentence, NEVER
😂😂😂
Remember, this is only a western view of the story. Greetings from the Heart ❤️ of the Serbian Capital!
7:18 This is the wrong flag for the UK. That flag became obsolete 224 years ago.
We are the United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland, and that will never change.
@@santi0501 Southern Ireland?
LOL )) Looks good nevertheless
@@santi0501 lol. It might change
@@G0TIMAN It will not change as long as the people of Northern Ireland wish to remain British - and latest polls (6 december, ipsos) show that only 26% of people do not. Stating that it "might" change is like stating that the US might suddenly collapse tomorrow - anything is possible. I said "WILL never change" not "CAN never change".
Yeah. France has got to work hard to convince the others european powers to put it in the driver seat of this France-led Europe power.
Especially since french military vehicles have only one forward gear but 5 different reverse gears.
After the russian invasion of ukraine Europe became a block of US puppet states ... Europe cant lead itself anymore the Us controls every thing
@@wookie2222 rather that then the opposite. Case in point: Russian tanks. They can't get back in cover or retreat quick enough so they get abandoned or blown up. Its the reason Russia lost so many tanks.
At the end of the day Europe geopolitics is dominated by the relationship between France Germany and Russia
@@vinniechanLOL, no just by the US.
Honeslty France has been a thorn in Americas side since the creation of NATO. Toppling American hegemony will not be easy. The USSR failed to do so. China and it’s allies are struggling to do the same. But a United Europe would be the ultimate opponent to America. Honestly, a United Europe would be a historic achievement that has never been done.
And will never be done 😂 - an american
China literally just started
Thank you for sharing! Beautifully done 😎
There is no way he didnt have that last sentence ready for ages and just waited for a moment to put it in somewhere.
That phrase about theory and practice dates back to the 1800s.
Einstein said that in an even more pithy form that the way he phrased it.
When it comes to Eastern Europe , America has demonstrated that when push comes to shove and the shells and bullets start flying, they are the ones you turn to for massive amounts of military aid. I'm team EU all the way, but all the major EU players got tangled up in red tape early on...
Exactly
America has also demonstrated that they benefit the most from a scenario where bullets start flying, instead of preventing it in the first place. It's all just a big business for them, and a way to increase their influence.
In this case that's because the US didn't have anything to lose from a hard confrontation with Russia in Ukraine. Whereas many European countries had good business relations with Russia and were hoping they wouldn't need to burn all those bridges. Hence the delay.
Russia/the soviet union and the US pretty much always get involved when the other is involved. It is in their own interest. As soon as their interests do not align with eastern euopean interests anymore they will probably just stop the support/leave (afghanistan, syria etc)
The EU has exactly zero military power. Nato is a defensive alliance and ukraine is not a member.
Other than that. The US is investing alot of money into companies producing weapons, even during peaceful times. So countries having conflics with their old anemy, in the best case a war- or new eastern euopean NATO members replacing their old soviet weapon systems with US weapon system very much serve their own interests
There is a reason Germany/France etc did not get involved in the Iraq war. The us attacked, so it was not something for an defensive alliance like NATO. the country was oil-rich, and there was no proof of biological weapons or a threat to any of the western countries- in fact: the US provided sadam with weapons before
@@goldbullet50 Haha the only way America could have prevented the Russian invasion would have been to allow Ukraine into NATO.
It's all Nothing but Big mouth talk. Since 1871, Germany has remained the foremost technological and military power in Europe, even after demilitarization of world war ll. US and Germany were involved in some the most Technologically advanced military project like MBB lampyridae and lockheed Martin F117 Nighthawk stealth Bomber, developing from the German Horten Ho229 bomber and Amerika Bomber project. Their Super MBT project led to the Development of Leopard 2 And Abrams tanks. Even Britishers Developed their Challenger Tank based on Leopard 2 series. I don't see France anywhere near controlling Europe, even after having Nuclear deterrent( actually meant to prevent German invasion in future ), while not letting Germany have it through the help of US, Russia and UK.
Spectacularly narrated. Such well made points.
Interesting video but as a Lithuanian I've noticed a few errors in it regarding the Baltic states:
1. In every map shown in the video you've misspelled Vilnius and Tallinn (they were spelled Volnius and Tallin).
2. At 4:34 you mention the Baltics (which I'm assuming is refers to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) amongst the outlying states of the EU. All of them are EU members, a part of the eurozone and their flags were correctly placed as such in the video. This makes what you said a bit strange and inaccurate.
3. Maybe not an error but a bit of a strange decision in my opinion. At 7:03, while explaining how eastern European countries don't want to develop closer relations with Russia you don't show the flags of the Baltic states. This seemed a bit strange to me because people here are both eastern European and generally have an extremely negative view of Russia. In addition, you did show the flag of Hungary which is arguably the most pro Russia country within the EU.
Vilnius and Tallinn are actually the correct ways of spelling them in English. Maybe that's not how you spell them in the local language but in English you do.
@@laaaliiiluuu you seem to have misunderstood my comment. I meant that Vilnius and Tallinn are the correct spellings and Volnius and Tallin were how they were spelled in the video.
@@swagcat7604 Oh ... 😅 Yeah, I somehow read it the other way around, haha. My bad, sorry!
@@laaaliiiluuu misunderstandings happen, don't worry about it lol
Regarding 2: "Outlying" means "on the outer edge", not "outside". A region's outlying territories are the ones farthest from the centre. Since the Baltic states are on the north-eastern edge of the EU, calling them "outlying" seems accurate to me.
As an American, I think European military autonomy is an important element for global stability.
Euros are too busy arguing with each other.
As another American, I like the idea in theory, but the reality is there is no autonomous "Europe." France and Germany really have no plan for Russia other than throwing the bordering nations under the bus, and even if that were to succeed the question of whether "Europe" would be Germany or France could only be resolved by one or the others bitter dismay, setting the stage for inevitable dissolution. Personally as an isolationist I would be more than willing to leave Europe to this endless drama, but I suspect those who desire "strategic autonomous Europe" have a very different, though incredibly unlikely, vision for the future of Europe and would come to deeply regret their dream.
The problem is they can't be left alone without starting a war that inevitably brings the U.S. back into it. Take WW 1 and WW2 for examples. Ever since we held Europe under our military protection, we had no major wars for nearly a century. The U.S. took its eye away for a second, and Russia invades.
I don't like to baby sit Europe either, but their problems can pop up, which than become ours.
@Scott doesntmatter with arguing and tentions of hostilities, hostilities leading to fighting, which leads to wars, that drag the U.S. into it. All the more reason the leaders in Europe are not responsible enough to not start a war if the U.S. leaves.
Except when they have a wave of nationalism, dissolve the EU, and start warring with each other aaalll over agaaain.
Thank you. I always look forward to these insightful reports.
*9:00** Here is the EUROPEANS' SUBMISSION to their American master...*
France always likes to talk about strong independent Europe but when there are realistic needs and actions to be made there is no effort and everyone relies on US. You can even look at joint EU weapons, half of them are never finally made and the half that enter production are dysfunctional and lack any production of spare parts because there are many French-German companies that battle each other all the time who's gonna make what and France of course envisions the "EU" cooperation as made in France.
It's the problem of France which accepted to sell parts of their best state owned companies like Airbus to Germany and MBDA witch is now proven to be a big mistake as Germany now wants to take control of it when there were just supposed to be paying for easier development
You right, at this rate when they finished 6th gen fighter jet we(turkey) would already put the 6th gen fighters in combat operations consider that we right now about the finishing first 5th gen fighter prototype 🤣
There is still much distrust towards France in Europe, besides ancient rivalries. Eastern Europe (perhaps rightly so) believes that France would sell them out to Russia if given the opportunity.
@@YG-fm2wv Kurdish genocide wtf?! Dude I'm not an erdo fanboy but your media is also not that sane looks like
@@tezcanuyank3446 we will see if they do or if they simply do like others have done, announce their 5th gen fighter only to have to redefine the meaning after having been found lacking in the key requirements of a 5th gen fighter...like stealth for instance. It will be interesting to see who is the first nation to reveal they were able to detect and track the Turkish 5th Gen. It will be interesting to see if Turkey can produce an engine capable of supercruise.
Napoleon complex...
France simply lacks means to fullfill its dreams.
18 howitzers sent to Ukraine is one third of their entire inventory...
Lol that’s sad
If France is too strong military and too independent
American won't like it
The Caesar are precision auto cannons with range of up to 80km way more than anything NATO or Russia have costing 18 million each it's nothing to do with cheap howitzer
I might be mistaken but didn’t they send 18 CESARs? They have a huge range of about a 100km, which is way beyond any Russian artillery’s range
@@789know The US would love the French to be stronger militarily. FFS the US has been harping on European states to spend more as part of their NATO membership for a decade+. A strong France allows the US to focus on countering China. Is this the new 'reality'? People convincing themselves the US is the one trying to keep allies from spending more militarily? What a joke.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Russia over the next decade or two, particularly regarding relations with Europe and China. Thank you for another interesting video!
God be with you out there everybody! ✝️ :)
Annihilation or Isolation for Russia during the current century. Enough is enough with the walking dead.
Right now, getting France, Germany, Russia, and Greater Britian to agree on anything is going to be a slog at best. Right now I see Ukraine, Poland being the center of an Eastern European alliance in much the same way Austria Hungary was prior to WWI. GB, France, and Germany have such a history of conflict, and a history of mutual conflict, from Charlemagne to Hitler, to ever agree to unify unless a massive existential threat were to present itself.
Europe is genuinely the only Power player with enough Soft Power that can challenge the US at all fronts but the EU doesn't want to spend to get Hard Power.
To get Hard Power, a nation or Supranational entity needs to spend vigorously and lavishly to get there.
US spending power is the reason the Americans will stay on top for quite a while as the rest of the World navigate what they want to do about American Power.
The EU's biggest mistake is that they failed to create a European identity that transcends individual small nation states in Europe. Such a mosaic can then be easily sabotaged from the outside.
@@j.langer5949 We had the Soviet Union as a superstate in Europe and we don't want that again.
@@j.langer5949 There will never be a trans European identity, each state, especially the bigger ones will do their own thing in tight situations.
@@megapangolin1093 I do not believe that. A European empire is a logical thing. I understand that people who hate Europe are not happy with such a prospect. The US is doing everything in its power to sabotage the cooperation between the Europeans and the fateful connection with Russia, which is also a European country. Europe + Russia = a powerhouse that represents a nightmare for Washington planners.
The only reason why the USA haven't collapsed yet is thanks to their dollar exchange power as they just have to print to get more money, once China Yuan take over it the USA will collapse
Videos like this is why CaspianReport is a good channel on youtube.
Deep view and unusual angles really keep me interested.
Thank you Shirvan
If Germany enters in a severe crisis the European Project is over (at least the post-WWII form). The Eastern Block and Italy will give the finger to France and that's it: goodbye EU.
thing is, France does realize that the sentence from Lord Palmerston ("We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow". Speech, House of Commons, 1 March 1848) is very true, for France and for their current allies.
The USA have an interest in being allied with "Europe", until they lose interest because they're more interested on the other side (China...). So Nato is nice and everything, but what if come a moment when the interests aren't that important anymore? What would happen?
In France mind, this is why Europe need to be capable to sustain itself both for their defense (that's what the US claim they want) and for their procurement. That's the point the US in way less interested in for many reasons.
To build "advanced" weapons, there is a need for the technology and the industry. One does not start from zero and get really good in a short time anymore. And the more advanced the weapons, the truer it is. If Europe doesn't "protect" their weapon manufacturers by buying stuff from them, they will sink and the only solution is to buy from Oncle Sam...
Oncle Sam sure does leverage everything they can to help their sales around the world (their defense treaties, their economic, financial help and so on).
Once Europe doesn't have weapon manufacturers anymore, their only choice is to keep buying from Oncle Sam, EVEN if Oncle Sam lose interest in "defending" Europe thoroughly.
Is France hoping to gain market shares if Europe source their weapon procurement in Europe? Of course, that's a given. But the main benefit is having a local procurement that doesn't make Europe dependent on the US.
What does happen the next time "Europe" does say no to the US on one of their adventure like Irak 2.0? We all have seen how "adult in the room" USA reaction was despite this decision being very bad indeed and with so many consequences...
Well, take a look at Turkey that was ousted from the F35 client list for having the galls to buy some S400 from Russia (that was basically a diplomatic move to appease Russia after shooting down one of their plane on the Syrian-Turkish border), and is now scrambling to procure new fighter planes.
So for France, it is, yes, we are currently allied with the US and hope for the better, but prepare for the worst. Who know when the next Trump get to power and decide to double down on the Europe strategic interest? So let's have a fighting rationalized block in Europe, capable to provide for itself and allied with the US, but able to not blindly follow the orders when the interests begin to diverge a little too much...
about the article 5 of the Nato charter, there is the theory and there is the practice: would Washington really risk their cities nuked to defend some obscure (in the mind of most average Americans) part of Europe? It all depend on who's at the helm... and Europe can't risk everything on betting that the US will ALWAYS follow through.
Allies? yes. Aligned? only if it make sense.
Does France look first in their interests? yes... it just so happen that France interests are in keeping Europe the more autonomous possible and to not revert back in a bi polar world with US vs China instead of US vs USSR... because the result is always "you're with us or against us"... That's the De Gaulle doctrine, the 3rd way...
This entire channel sheds light on the real game that is being played by countries. There’s no way of understanding/ recognizing this as a regular citizen anywhere unless you’re able to connect various political landscapes that are happening around different regions. It’s absolute bonkers just what is happening and how caspianreport is able to connect everything together. I am truly interested in the geopolitical world but could never come up with such masterpieces. Thanks for doing this world justice and I hope you’re able to reach the masses 🙏
Makes you appreciate just how simplistic the news media is.
9:15 lose a lot of credibility when you suggest that the US was behind bombing of nord stream pipeline. That would be the the worst thing for the US to do because if evidence was found, it would cause irreparable and major damage in the relationship. So why give that suggestion??
The video also lots of conspiracy like arguments. One the worst I’ve seen of this channel.
You might like 7 Jours sur Terre (Québécois channel but dubs are planned in the near future)
The Geopoliticians including Caspian has utterly failed regarding the Ukraine crisis. Turns out world events are much more driven by cultural and personal drivers than “rational countries following their interests”. There’s nothing rational about what Putin is doing, if he wanted to improve Russia’s standing.
@@thomasfsan "There’s nothing rational about what Putin is doing, if he wanted to improve Russia’s standing."
Correct. It's purely about Putin and leaving a legacy. Nothing he did regarding Ukraine is beneficial to Russia.
European taxpayers are simply unwilling to pay for strategic autonomy. There are just too many other competing priorities, social safely net etc., that prevent the defence budgets that would be necessary.
Europe will always be a strategic priority. It's just not THE strategic priority any more
Europe won’t pay for it even if they had a European military. US funds and equipment would be gone. Support for Ukraine would also probably be reduced as the US left more of it to the EU as a regional responsibility and the EU continued current funding anyways for support of Ukraine and their own militaries. A net reduction of 90% of funds currently defending Europe. This will embolden aggressive countries and destabilize Europe.
What Europe wants and what Europe is willing to pay for are two different things.
@@alanbudde8560 exactly
Europe is also full of disfunctional countries, with very high taxes and very badly administered money(like in my country, Italy), so it's a given that no one wants to pay even more to flush money down the drain for weapons and military, when there are many more important unsolved problems for the average citizen. I absolutely despise that we have made ourselves even more dependent on US right now, but I ain't paying more taxes so some old boomer fart can play with more expensive war toys.
France is making a comeback!
He should release his videos on Saturday or Sunday morning when people are off work and sipping their coffee. It perfect for that. Not during the week when people are dealing with chit. I will save this for tomorrow morning.
As a french, who takes close at heart this topic, I can say your summary is spot on. The hope persist for an independent Europe.
it wont happen
The video is about "French hegemony" not an independent Europe. Did you not watch it at all?
@@rinorthaci9436 To the French, French Hegemony == Independent Europe
@@rinorthaci9436 The plan is about an independent Europe. But since it's a French plan, France is naturally expected to act as hegemon.
you don't mean independent Europe, you mean French Europe...
If you had told people 80 or so years ago that France and Germany would one day be close allies, they would have laughed in your face.
We aren't really close allies, our interests are too different
I don't see this as a French pursuit of hegemony. Rather, it's been a pursuit of European security without dependency on the US. Unfortunately, Russia will never stop being imperialistic
*9:23** Now you know why France wants a 3rd way... we can't depend on China, on Russia or on USA!!! ALL FOR EUROPE!!!! EUROPE FIRST!!!! MAKE EUROPE GREAT AGAIN!!!* #MEGA!!!
"Strategic autonomy" as you show it at the very beginning of your video is not only the wish of France, but also of Germany. The German version was the ostpolitik option, and is now the strengthening of trade ties with China.
What is holding Europe back in the conquest of its strategic independence is not the United States, but (curiously) Romania, the Slavic countries, the Baltic countries and even Hungary, which prefer American military-industrial tutelage to that of Germany...
From the end of World War II, it is true that French governments were very careful to ensure that France remained able to avoid an asymmetrical empire-colony type of relationship with the United States, but this was not the concern of Britain, nor of 'Reconstruction' Germany. Later Germany joined France in a policy of strategic economic independence.
What is holding Europe back is ignorant Ostpolitik that proved to be absolute disaster. 30 years of trying to appease Russia shattered last year. Eastern Europe won't build future with countries that pretty much are ready to throw them into lion's den for their own benefit.
There's nothing curious about it. The Eastern European countries doubt Germany's handling of Russia vis-a-vis their own sovereignty and they probably find the French indifferent and even ignorant about the matter. Poland or Romania or Baltics have every right to suspect Russia and thus prioritize links with US over links with Germany and France, who would clearly be unable and unwilling to defend their rights and even borders against Russia. Seriously, why would anybody in Poland or Lithuania or Hungary give a hoot about French project of strategic autonomy that's dependent on an appeased Russia when they are in reality bordering Russia and Belarus and watching what's happening in Ukraine?
@@abstract_geographika There are age-old antagonisms in Europe, for example between the Poles, the Russians and the Germans, the latter having disregarded the sovereignty of the Poles in various historical circumstances (and some of these Poles found refuge in France). It is the same thing for regions like Romania, Bulgaria, Greece: history has put these populations at grips with the Ottoman (Turkish), British, Russian, German, French empires... The Ottoman domination left its mark in Europe as far as Albania and Kosovo. The only way out for Europe is to form a union of sovereign states to counteract the imperialist tendencies of its neighbors, or of overseas powers.
Bcs germany want sell romania and poland to russia, its obvious we didnt want it
Truth is that Europe can never be truly united, many countries even inside NATO have populations that pretty much can't tolerate each other
"one does not need to see the whole staircase just to take the first step" 🥶
I have much respect for this channel - really competent and one of the few that managed to keep it's focus on honest information.
I would love a video about how democracy and foreign relations/defense work. It seems to me almost all countries design their policies without much input from voters. Thanks!
Very, very well said! Thanks for the video!!
Absolutely crushed it with this content! I can not wait for the next one.
Always a great show CaspianReport Thank you!
Viva la France and long live Europa
I like how France’s goal has been the same for centuries: Hegemony over Europe
I like to imagine replacing the scary music in this video with like, Spongebob music or something
Are yah ready kids?
Baby Shark could also be considered
Hah
A French happy song?
The EU has the potential for greatness but do they have the political will?
😂😂😂
@kira Poor Xenos thinks the weak and irrelevant eu has potential for greatness - it’s hilarious 😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Villain1874 bruh why shouldn’t it have
Not even the potential, at this point. There is no political cohesion and even the economic might has been on a decline for some time now.
That is so stupid that it’s hilarious that it goes on for 12 minutes
you should cover the pillar two agenda of the OECD, based out of Paris, and strongly influenced by France, which will attempt to create a new form of neo colonialism under the guise of global minimum tax. Happy to discuss.
CaspianReport keeps giving and giving. Love this channel and thank you Shirvan and all of the people involved in the making of this videos!
Excellent video, offering a great insight into world geopolitics, which would otherwise be difficult to put together from news outlets.
LMFAOOO I'm French and just stumbled across this video's thumbnail on my ytb portal, ok all right i'm gonna watch it but...
Is this a joke?
Excellent video. Thank you.
This guy, Shirvan Neftichi, does the best geopolitics narratives, with a spike of oratory proficiency. Today’s quotes: 1) Sometimes one does not need to see the whole staircase just to take the first step. 2) In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice, there is practically no similarity between theory and practice.
Worthy of Sir Humphry that second one.
His quotes are almost always borrowed, without attribution. That first one for instance is taken from Martin Luther King. Second is a rephrasing of an Einstein quote - "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."
@@ArawnOfAnnwn A wise audience knows that for sure.
France finally understood it can not be a superpower on its own, hence they are trying to do it with the economic resources of Germany and other few countries in EU. So far those countries avoided buying the "France the brains of EU" vision.
In 70s France used to be called the "next minisuperpower of the World'. (As De Gaulle once said for Brazil,) France will remain the "next minisuperpower" forever.
At this stage they are settling for minipower status...
Germany economic resource was based on cheap russian gas energy for more than 70 years, Germany will collapse without cheap energy from Russia and France know it
That dumb, the UK was once the superpower of the world, why would it be necessary to have other when you can just bully them into doing what you want economically financially politically or militarily like the UK or US did
France may have fell short of becoming a superpower for now, but they are definitely unavoidable on the world stage. Third largest exporters of weapons, Europe biggest and most modern military, the only country in the world fielding nuclear aircraft carrier, excellent special forces. An economy that has nothing to be ashamed of and vast unexploited resources in the islands it remained in control of after decolonization.
@It`s okay. Not really Germany geographic position and their monopole in certain key industries by buying out competitors in Europe is the major factor of their economic growth
I would argue that relatively lacklustre support from France for Ukraine will make many eastern European countries think twice before allowing any further EU military integration. The US and even the UK have proven to be much better guarantors than either of the EU heavyweights. NATO works just fine, its defence chief is Norwegian and European countries play significant roles.. why then should we imperil that with dangerous ideas of European "independence." It's like we don't learn anything... an independent Europe dominated by Germany that's reliant on Russia for energy is an absolute tragedy waiting to happen. France should know better
This presentation was very interesting, and I learned some things, thank you !
FRANCE MENTIONED LET'S GOOOO 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🧀🥖🥐
France was likely the only smart country in the EU that invested in basic stuff like Nuclear power, Nuclear deterrence, and a hefty militery. Unfortunately the neighbourhood loves to dissapoint
french military capabilities and german economic capabilities are complimentary and interdependent
I think you can't realize how much more ressources China and USA have when you compare with Europe. Europe itself is made of very different countries, while China and USA comprise on their own more territory than the whole EU and economic power aswell. China by itself is home to more than the population of america and europe, and USA still beneficts from it's military and economic hegemony, which, paired up with a huge manpower pool, abundant ressources and stable neighborhood, gives a huge advantage over europe.
@@hotman_pt_ We have one thing though. China and the US compete for world dominance. Let's let them waste their ressources in that, trade with both parties, and we could emerge as something powerful.
@@alioshax7797 yes, we should look into gl leaving the American umbrella and be a real third party that can balance with both sides and benefict from both
He was right and the direction was right, that is to integrate Russia, economically and socially, but then USA did everything to not let that happen and most of EU just did what USA dictated. Personally I do not accept that EU or its most of the Nation's are sovereign entities, till USA drives their interests, while enriching itself at the cost of EU stability.
Very well made and unbiased report and analysis.