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A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies.
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France is a leader in Western Europe because of its size, location, strong economy, membership in European organizations, strong military posture, and energetic diplomacy. France generally has worked to strengthen the global economic and political influence of the EU and its role in common European defense. It views Franco-German cooperation and the development of a European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) with other EU members, as the foundation of efforts to enhance European security.
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France supports Quartet (US-EU-Russia-UN) efforts to implement the Middle East Road Map. France supports the establishment of a Palestinian state and the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive peace agreement, France supports the involvement of all Arab parties and Israel in a multilateral peace process. France has been active in promoting a regional economic dialogue and has played an active role in providing assistance to the Palestinian Authority. France opposed the use of force in Iraq in March 2003 and did not join the US-led coalition that liberated the country from the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. France contributed in part to the 230 million euro EU contribution to Iraq reconstruction in 2003. After the Iraqi Interim Government took power, France suggested possible additional assistance, in the form of police training and debt relief.
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France plays a significant role in Africa, especially in its former colonies, through extensive aid programs, commercial activities, military agreements, and cultural impact. In those former colonies where the French presence remains important, France contributes to political, military, and social stability. France maintains permanent military bases in Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon and Senegal. France deployed military forces to Cote d’Ivoire in 2002 and to Central African Republic in 2003 to address crisis in both countries and, with EU partners, led an international military operation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003. In 2004, it deployed military forces to provide humanitarian relief supplies to refugees from Darfur in Chad and to monitor the Chad-Sudan border.
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France has extensive political and commercial relations with Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Southeast Asia as well as an increasing presence in regional fora. France is seeking to broaden its commercial presence in China and will pose a competitive challenge to U.S. business, particularly in aerospace, high-tech, and luxury markets. In Southeast Asia, France was an architect of the 1991 Paris Accords, which ended the conflict in Cambodia.
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France supports strengthening democratic institutions in Latin America. It endorses the ongoing efforts to restore democracy to Haiti and seeks to expand its trade relations with all of Latin America.
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