France, which did not conduct very active diplomacy over the past few months due to presidential and parliamentary elections, reentered the international scene with the trip of Dominique de Villepin to the Middle East, Russia and the United States. While in Washington, the French foreign minister met with Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice to discuss bilateral relations and international problems.

Although Dominique de Villepin stances are softer than those of former French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine, in principle they are not much different because French foreign policy is set by Jacques Chirac.

During the French foreign minister's trip to Washington it became clear that the gap between the United States and France is widening. In contrast to the United States, which is seeking to mediate the Middle East peace process alone, Paris believes that the European Union, Russia and the United Nations should participate. It also became clear that France is not happy with U.S. measures over the past few months.

Paris believes that Bush's plan for the Middle East is inadequate and opposes all foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Palestine.

Although France supports cooperation and coordination in the campaign against terrorism, it does not consider terrorism an immediate threat to the security of Europe and other parts of the world. Therefore, Paris does not support unilateral measures in this regard.

At the same time Villepin considers any military attack on Iraq unacceptable and believes that the problem can only be settled through the implementation of UN resolutions. This is why Paris has called on Iraq to allow the return of UN weapons inspectors in order to reduce tension in the region and has called on the U.S. to show restraint and act within the framework of UN resolutions.

One of the main points of contention between the two countries is Washington's demand that its citizens be given immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. Although both sides agreed to continue talks on the issue within the framework of the Security Council, it is not likely that Paris will agree to immunity for U.S. nationals.

Differences in the economic arena are still there, particularly in the field of steel and agriculture subsidies. The two sides could not reach an agreement during the recent trip. In fact, it may be concluded that differences between the erstwhile NATO allies are growing and that France will oppose U.S. international policies in the future as well, because U.S. unilateralism is not in harmony with the interests of France and the European Union.