Today's Date:

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I – A secure and open France

A. A resolute policy to set France free from her insecurities

Our societies in the West have become more vulnerable: eighteen months ago, the French expressed a real need for security.

They have to cope with the speeding-up of time and with globalization which is creating physical, economic, social, psychological and cultural uncertainties, uncertainty about employment and about values, and above all a feeling of no longer being sure of their bearings, and the fear of some day or other being left by the wayside. Against this background, a gulf is being created between those who want to open up to the outside world and have the requisite wherewithal and confidence to do so, and those who take refuge in withdrawing behind France’s borders and see the opening-up as a threat.

The feelings of vulnerability also stem from the changes taking place in international society. (...) Groups have chosen the most extreme action: terrorism. Terrorism and proliferation remain the enemies of all peoples who love and want peace. They can thrive in the breeding grounds constituted by those progress has left behind, our societies have rejected, and use the lever of the revival of nationalism, religious extremism, inter-community clashes.

In this context, in view of this democratic need, we have set in train a major series of reforms designed to set France free from her insecurities, France who can make her voice heard in the world when she epitomizes the universal values inherited from her history.

B. For an open France

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The French know that we rank as a power which can and must make its voice heard because we have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, because we have nuclear forces, because for other countries we represent a certain ideal when it comes to respect for human rights and democracy. To be French also means thinking beyond France.

Finally, the French know that Europe is our future. They are keen for France to exert influence in Europe, to contribute to thinking European.

Because of this, France is determined to play an active role in four areas, in four spheres of solidarity which illustrate the theme of your symposium, "New solidarities":

- she must be active in the international system;
- she must contribute to regional stabilization and crisis resolution;
- she must direct everyone’s energy to the task of enhancing internal security;
- and, forming an essential bond, she must strengthen the ties of confidence between defence professionals and civil society.

II – Support for the international system

A. Principles of the international system: stability, fairness and responsibility

We are very mindful of the need to respect the international community's fundamental principles which were and still are at stake: stability, fairness, responsibility, and the need for their balanced integration in its decisions.

Stability is a strategic requirement. For France, the international order does not signify weakness, impotence or opposition to change, but adoption of a determined and clear-sighted approach to securing the permanent resolution of crises.

Against the background of interdependence which characterizes our era, fairness is essential. At the time when the international community wanted resolutely to resolve the problem of Iraqi disarmament, it had to pay the same attention to the Middle East crisis.

Finally, collective responsibility is a moral and political necessity. Moral, because democracies must observe abroad the principles underpinning them at home. Political, because only collective decisions ensure the legitimacy required for far-reaching, coherent and effective action.

These principles demand genuine solidarity on the part of the whole international community. They inspired, as you know, our country's stance, under the Head of State's authority, during the Iraq crisis: vigilance in the face of a potential threat, imperative need for any action to be legitimate and quest for efficacy based on instruments of collective action.

They inspire our approach to the post-conflict situation, and their observance provides the best way of restoring peace, achieving the reconstruction of Iraq and giving the Iraqis control of their destiny in a democratic framework.

B. Desire to see reform of the international system

It is to maintain these major balances that we think it necessary to reform the international system. Addressing recently the United Nations General Assembly, President Chirac argued for a far-reaching modernization of the Security Council, calling for its enlargement to reflect the state of the world and the strengthening of its authority and its means of crisis assessment and collective action.

C. Non-proliferation and disarmament

On non-proliferation and disarmament, our ambition is the same: we want to maintain the major balances governing the world.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction today constitutes the real challenge. France is determined to face up to all her responsibilities in the nuclear, chemicals and biological spheres.

It was to do this that the G8 mobilized in Evian, that the European Union, at the Thessalonikí Council, launched a response strategy, and that President Chirac proposed the holding of a Security Council meeting at summit level in order to coordinate the action to stop the spread of proliferation .

But our commitment goes far beyond that. Faced with the growing number of international crises and persistent threats of terrorism and proliferation, our armed forces are actively contributing to regional stabilization. This is how we wish to exert our influence.

III. We are giving ourselves the means to exert influence

A. Regional stabilization

Again this year, nearly 15,000 of our soldiers, both regulars and reservists, have been, or are deployed throughout the world, engaged in 27 operations outside metropolitan France.

I want to underline the remarkable success of Europe's first two military missions in the ESDP framework: in Macedonia, where for the first time in its history, the European Union has taken over from NATO; and in Ituri, with a particularly complex operation, both on the ground and at logistical level, which took place over 6,000 kilometres from Europe.

From Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa, in our continuing participation in the fight against terrorism we are committing our personnel every day alongside our American friends and allies and other NATO partners.

Finally, in Africa as in the Balkans, our participation remains essential in the pursuit of the ongoing stabilization and reconciliation processes.

I want especially (...) to pay tribute to the competence, professionalism, operational readiness and courage of the men and women of our armed forces who, wherever they are engaged, are doing an extraordinary job and arousing the respect of our allies.

The many calls for the deployment of the armed forces in different theatres confirm, if confirmation were needed, the need for the modernization of our capabilities.

B. At national level with the Military Estimates Act (LPM – loi de programmation militaire)

With the Military Estimates Act, we are giving ourselves the financial resources to acquire these capabilities, the instrument for exerting our influence.

In line with our commitments, the 2003 Initial Finance Act has made a major first financial contribution to this modernization effort with a 7.5% increase in nominal terms of the Defence budget compared with 2002. With the 2004 Finance Bill, the government is reaffirming its determination to guarantee our country a modern and efficient defence.

Overall, the forthcoming Defence budget is up 4.1%, with investment expenditure up by 9.2% which, given the current economic slowdown and in the light of the general requirement to control expenditure, constitutes an exceptional effort. (...)

Thus the deterrence force will be given a third new-generation Triomphant class ballistic missile submarine in 2004. The improved medium-range air-to-ground missile will come into service in 2007, whilst the M51 strategic ballistic missile will soon enter production.

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Deterrence remains an essential foundation of our defence. The nuclear forces constitute, over the long term, a guarantee in the face of the risks of aggression by large powers. They are, moreover, tailored to cope with a diversity of blackmail and threats to which we are, increasingly plausibly, exposed by the development of weapons of mass destruction in the world. Under the Head of State's authority, their design, programming and the doctrine governing them are evolving with our environment and analysis of the threats.

In the conventional sphere, the command structures at the strategic, operational and tactical level will be modernized and tailored to the new context of multinational engagement. Force projection and mobility will be improved. Our long-range strike capabilities will become more flexible and more accurate. The emphasis will be placed on improving the equipment of the special and land forces.

This modernization of our military capabilities is in line with the major choices we have made to take forward the building of Defence Europe and our participation in the transformation of the Atlantic Organization.

This is because to exert influence requires a strong France within a strong Europe, which also contributes to the vitality of a strong Atlantic alliance.

C. At European level with the ESDP

I should like to underline the substantial progress achieved by the European Security and Defence Policy in the past year, since our last meeting here.

The European operations have shown the concrete dividend the ESDP has brought on the ground. They demonstrate the Europeans' ability to bear increased responsibilities, and the corresponding risks, in order to defend their values and their security interests, including outside the European continent.

The challenge is to maintain this impetus so that the EU gives itself the means fully to shoulder its responsibilities in crisis prevention and resolution.

Of all the advances Europe is going to make, progress in foreign policy and defence will be at the heart of this process. If we want stronger institutions, if we want greater coherence in the European enterprise, if we want a Europe which is a force for balance in the world, we shall clearly have concurrently to advance thinking on foreign policy, democracy and defence.

It is with this in mind that we support the need to plan and conduct effectively the Petersberg tasks, particularly those not using NATO assets. This improvement in the capabilities for operational planning and conduct of operations will strengthen the EU's credibility on the international stage.

Our goal remains to establish such a capability, either through an agreement of the Twenty-Five, which would be our preference, or between interested partners, an option we are keen to see opened up by the new Union Treaty. Member States today have to rise to several challenges: first of all a constitutional challenge with the draft Treaty adopted by the Convention which contains some significant advances on defence which must be safeguarded; then a conceptual challenge by completing the work set in train by Mr Solana and his team on the European Union's security strategy; and finally a challenge at the capability and operational level, since it is on the ground that the ESDP is becoming a reality.

If we succeed in rising to these challenges, we shall achieve our twin objective, since a stronger Europe also means a stronger Atlantic Alliance.

D. Working closely with NATO

By strengthening European capabilities we are of course contributing to NATO and we are endeavouring to ensure that the two organizations' approaches complement each other with due regard for the autonomy of each.

But, and here there must be no doubt in anyone's mind, NATO is and will remain the foundation of our collective defence. Our country considers that the transatlantic link and the strategic partnership between Europe and the United States, our foremost ally, make a fundamental contribution to world security.

France is, moreover, concretely showing her solidarity with her allies since she is, with over 5,200 soldiers committed, one of the leading contributors of forces to NATO-led operations. While retaining her specific position in the Alliance, she has also made great efforts to contribute to the development and establishment of the new command structure and rapid reaction force, the NRF (NATO Response Force).

Admittedly, improving the enlarged Alliance’s military effectiveness will probably necessitate adapting the decision-making process. But the primacy of the political must be reaffirmed. More than ever before, it is by the joint definition of the political objectives that we will guarantee the success of military operations and strengthen the Alliance.

Although robust capabilities for action in external theatres are necessary, they are not enough. As I said here last year, terrorists don’t stop at borders. This is why getting the whole government to focus on internal security remains a constant priority. (...)./.