Les relations militaires France-USA depuis la fin de la WW2

How special is the US-France Relationship since WW2 ?

        United States and France have been closely linked since February 6, 1778 and the ratification of the Treaty of Alliance in the midst of the American War of Independence. This marks the beginning of a privileged relationship, which sees Great Britain as the common enemy. The US-United Kingdom relationship is described as a "special relationship" since a speech by Winston Churchill in Missouri in 1946. But it must be said that France also has a precious relationship with the United States, and has had it for much longer. Each has been able to count on the help of the other at one time or another in its history. Of course, the helping country was always motivated by its own needs. This mutual aid allows them to have a real weight on the international scene today. France and the USA are among the nine countries possessing nuclear weapons. They are also part of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The USA is the world's leading economic power in 2020 and France is estimated to be 6th or 7th. Both countries are considered to be very interventionist militarily on a global level. Far from being the result of altruism, these interventions are often motivated by economic or geostrategic stakes. Both are considered as "Northern" countries and have economic interests in several countries of the South. Their interests have often converged throughout history. But tensions have sometimes arisen when one country intervened on foreign territory without the agreement or support of the other. After WW2, the winning countries will design a new world order. France and the United States are among them and will be, for example, among the countries sharing the occupation of Germany with the USSR and Great Britain. Which brings us to the following question:

How special is the US-France relationship since WW2 ?

        To analyze whether or not this relationship is special, we will focus on several points. First, we will analyze the exit of WW2 and the Marshall Plan to understand the importance that the United States took for France as early as 1945. Secondly, we will analyze different military conflicts on foreign lands in which our two subjects of study participated and how they supported each other or not during these conflicts. Thirdly, we will analyze the creation of NATO and the positions of French presidents during the Cold War. Fourth, we will see the economic and cultural importance of the United States for France in today's world. And finally, we will look at the recent political relations between the US and France. We will then be able to respond to the problematic presented. But first of all, let's do a quick historical review of US-France relations, which will help us understand a little better the relations between the two countries since the end of WW2.

Historical overview 

        On February 6, 1778, in the midst of the American War of Independence (1775-1783), the Treaty of Alliance with France was signed. The kingdom of France and the United States concluded this defensive alliance, which consisted of sending troops to the other party in the event of a British attack. It also speaks of an "eternal peace" between the Kingdom of France and the United States. This treaty also provided the French with a guarantee for the preservation of French possessions on American soil. Humiliated by the Treaty of Paris of 1763 which ended the Seven Years War, the French were eager to take revenge on Great Britain and found in the American rebels an ally of choice. The American rebels were therefore able to rely on France for military support during the War of Independence. Another great historical moment in American-French relations is of course The Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte ceded Louisiana to the United States for the sum of 15 million dollars at the time. The sums obtained from the sale of this territory (which corresponds to 22% of the current surface area of the USA) will allow Napoleon to become Napoleon I and to conquer most of Europe. During the Civil War (1861-1865), Napoleon III, then Emperor of the French, insisted on the neutrality of France in this conflict, and invited the French residing in the USA not to take up arms. In fact, tens of thousands of Frenchmen would take up arms to defend one side or the other. At the beginning of World War I, the United States observed a policy of strict neutrality. But in January 1917, Germany decreed a total submarine war against all ships trading with the Allies. The USA broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. But it was the torpedoing of the Vigilentia (an American ship) that convinced the American Congress to vote to enter the War. In the following months, American troops arrived on French territory. It was in the summer of 1918 that most of the American contingent arrived. On January 8, 1918, Woodrow Wilson presented to the U.S. Congress 14 points that formed a program for a peace treaty to end WW1. Only 4 of these points will be included in the Treaty of Versailles. Judged too idealistic, Wilson's 14 points did not suit the French, who wanted to deal a hard blow to the German economy to prevent any resurgence of the German threat. The United States, for its part, wanted Germany not to find itself in too catastrophic an economic situation, for fear that it might be tempted to move towards communism. During WW1, France had contracted a huge economic debt with the USA. The USA really became involved in WW2 after the Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor base on December 7, 1941. They will fight on the side of the Allies, and thus of France. American soldiers will participate in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.

I. At the very end of WW2 & the Marshall Plan (1947-52)

a. At the very end of WW2

        The winners of the war will be able to organize world peace. This will result in the creation of the UN. The headquarters of the organization is located in New York, to further support the fact that the USA is the biggest winner of this war. On an economic level, the USA is indeed the biggest winner of this war. Between 1939 and 1945, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the USSR had fallen by 33%, that of Germany by 58% (1946), that of China by 15%, that of Japan by 42%, that of France by 45% and that of Italy by 39%. As for the USA, its GDP increased by 80% between 1939 and 1945. The country then held 35% of the world's GDP^[1]. New York became the financial center of the world and the US dollar became the international reserve currency. American domination over the world can then begin.  

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