Unlike the British, the French have never been the lackeys of the United States.

The French regard themselves as a major European power, and French governments have never kowtowed to the White House, regardless of whether rightists like General de Gaulle or Jacques Chirac occupied the Elysee Palace or leftists like François Mitterrand.
But it seems that the French tradition is being abandoned by Nicolas Sarkozy -- who himself had promised that Paris would maintain its stance of independence from Washington during his election campaign.
Since Sarkozy took office last spring, the French government has drastically changed its position.
It began when Sarkozy traveled to the U.S. to spend his vacation at the U.S. president’s family compound to emphasize the strength of Paris-Washington ties.
After the French president’s cordial meeting with the Bush family, the first visit to post-occupation Baghdad by a French foreign minister occurred.
Ironically, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who was the cofounder of the international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), initially opposed the Iraq war.
However, in a complete turnaround, Kouchner traveled to Baghdad to show France’s approve of the U.S. policy in Iraq, which seems to indicate that Paris may be destined to pass London in the race to be the main U.S. lapdog.
A little while later, Kouchner made remarks about Iran’s nuclear program that were more outrageous than anything the other top diplomats of Western countries had ever said.
While people like George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Robert Gates still exercise caution and speak of negotiating with Iran, the French foreign minister has mentioned the possibility of a war against Iran.
Yet Kouchner’s indiscreet remarks are nothing new. He recently disrupted Paris-Baghdad relations by saying that the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki should be removed.
If he makes another faux pas, Kouchner will probably go the way of Spain’s Jose Maria Aznar, Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi, and Britain’s Tony Blair.
It could be said that the French foreign minister’s warmongering remarks were due to his inexperience in matters of diplomacy.
But should we reject such an excuse, especially in light of the Sarkozy administration’s cooperation with the U.S. over the past four months, we can conclude that the French right-wingers’ opportunism is destroying their country’s political tradition.
If it continues on this course, France will no longer be viewed as an opponent of the U.S. and will become anathema to the Islamic world, just like Britain.