France and Germany were during the interwar era one of the key elements of international relations. They were the two most involved powers in World War I. This war was not the last as many people hoped. Once again the two powers were very involved in the Second World War. Therefore, it is essential to analyse and compare the foreign policies of France and Germany to understand the breakout of the war. In this paper we will compare the foreign policies of both Germany and France and point up the impact of these policies on international relations and international order. First we have to consider the opposition of the two policies and then highlight the continuity of these policies during all the interwar era.
[...] The final goal of it was to replace Germany as the most important industrial power in Europe but also to make France the centre of a great commercial and economical network. The idea was to remove more than fifty percent of the German energy and raw materials by giving Sarre and Silesia mines to France and Poland and by making Germany give huge quantities of coke and coal to France, Italia and Belgium. The French metallurgic project was more than a mere quest of security, it was a vast project of economical expansion[1]. [...]
[...] The end of the French predominance in Europe About the new climate of appeasement and dialogue between France and Germany in the mid-20's see Girault Franck R. Turbulente Europe et nouveaux mondes (1917-1941). Paris About the Locarno Pact an dits different aspects see Milza, Pierre. Les relations internationales de 1918 à 1939. Paris p.60- Keylor, William. The 20th Century World : An International History. 4th edition. OUP p.137. Concerning the European Union project and its failure see Milza, Pierre. Les relations internationales de 1918 à 1939. [...]
[...] The first step of the reconciliation between France and Germany was the Locarno meeting in October 1925. Germany officially recognized its western boundaries. France finally obtained something important. Indeed, as we know, security of its boundaries was the final aim of its foreign policy. Great Britain and Italy guaranteed it. Furthermore, Germany accepted the demilitarization of the Rhineland and declared it would not use force to obtain a revision of the Versailles treaty. In return, France accepted to evacuate the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland. [...]
[...] As a consequence British and American governments feared that France was leading an aggressive policy towards Germany to become the most powerful nation of Europe. It led to tensions and disagreements between the winners. The British government wanted to keep Germany power to a certain level as a balance of power against France. As a consequence, light of Germany's disarmement and France's acquisition of undisputed military preponderance in Europe, it comes as no surprise that Great Britain systematically rebuffed French attempts in the early 1920s to secure a Brtitish comitment to defenfd by force of arms the territorial settlement in Western Europe”[4]. [...]
[...] As usual it tried to make alliance to assure security (Italy, Soviet Union And so did Germany (Italy, Poland and finally Soviet Union). Pacifism was made responsible for the collapse of western democracies. The Munich conference was a turning point and was a good example of the French and British attitude towards Germany during this period. It revealed both the disunion between France and Great Britain as well as the weakness of France, unable to honour its commitments towards its eastern allies. [...]
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