The speech of the new French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the 27th of August signalled a major shift in the French foreign policy. In his first foreign policy speech, Sarkozy discussed the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Iran’s nuclear program along with the situation in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
According to an article on the Guardian Unlimited, Sarkozy struck a more pro-U.S. tone than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac. However, the first demand of the new French president was a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.
In his speech to 180 French ambassadors, Sarkozy also described the standoff over Iran's nuclear program as "undoubtedly the most serious crisis before us today", saying a diplomatic push to rein in Tehran was the only alternative to "the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran." Again this broke with Chirac, who had earlier suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran might be inevitable.
Analysts say Sarkozy’s statement regarding Iran could be viewed as a threat of military attack against the Islamic Republic if it doesn’t meet international demands and ended its nuclear program. However, Sarkozy didn’t bluntly announce that France would be taking any part in such an attack.
Many diplomats were surprised at Sarkozy’s straight-forward approach in addressing Iran and calling it “the most serious weighing in the international order today”. Boston News reported that Francois Heisbourg, the author of a coming book on Iran’s nuclear bid, commented on Sarkozy speech and said “This came out of the blue. To actually say that if diplomacy fails the choice will be to accept a nuclear Iran or bomb Iran, this is a diplomatic blockbuster."
In another break with the Chirac regime, Sarkozy hardened his tone against Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, saying that Moscow was using its oil and gas wealth with "brutality".
However, the 53-year-old French president softened his stance towards Turkey, saying that Paris would facilitate negotiations between the European Union and Ankara over Turkey’s membership as long as a special consultation committee was set up to consider Europe's borders.
Perhaps the most notable thing in Sarkozy’s speech was his determination to show that France wants to have a key role in the Middle East. He said he was ready to hold serious talks with Syria if it supported French efforts to end the political crisis in Lebanon.
Sarkozy also made clear that France wants to have a role as a mediator in Iraq.
But his speech came hours before his foreign minister; Bernard Kouchner told the U.S. magazine Newsweek that Iraq’s prime minister Nuri al-Maliki should be removed. “I just had [U.S. secretary of state] Condoleezza [Rice] on the phone 10 or 15 minutes ago, and I told her, 'Listen, he's got to be replaced,'" Kouchner told the magazine. "Many people believe the prime minister ought to be changed… I don't know if that will go through, though, because it seems President Bush is attached to Mr Maliki. But the government is not functioning."
Kouchner had to publicly apologize afterwards for “interfering in Iraqi affairs”. He told French radio: "If the prime minister wants me to excuse myself for having interfered in Iraqi affairs in such a direct way, then I do so willingly."
Last month, Kouchner made the first visit by a French foreign minister to Iraq since France opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Analysts say the trip indicated France’s eagerness to have a role in Iraq and its push for a greater UN and EU involvement.
In an article published on the International Herald Tribune, Kouchner also said there could only be a political solution to Iraq’s problems, not a military one. Demanding the UN and Iraq's neighbours to act, he said: "The methods used to build a secure and democratic Iraq have failed."
It’s not clear whether Sarkozy’s approval ratings would slide following his announced foreign policies. Boston News reported that according to a TNS-Sofres telephone poll of 1,000 French citizens, 71 percent say they are satisfied with Sarkozy's performance. A number of other polls put his approval rating higher than 60 percent.