PARIS — France wasn’t wrong. It was just early.
In 1956, when U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower dramatically forced Britain and France to back down from military intervention to regain control of the Suez Canal from Egypt, French distrust of America began to simmer.
While Eisenhower had played a crucial role in the 1944 liberation of France from Nazi Germany, during the Suez crisis, he worked with the United Nations behind European countries’ backs to impose a ceasefire, leaving Paris feeling both humiliated and betrayed.
Almost 70 years later, Eisenhower’s Suez maneuvering is intricately linked to current French President Emmanuel Macron’s ongoing, yet so far unsuccessful, push for Europe to reduce its reliance on American military support that has underpinned the continent’s security since the end of World War II.
“The leaders of the Fourth Republic deduced that the Americans could not be counted on, and decided to start developing France’s own nuclear deterrent,” said Yannick Pincé, a historian at the Ecole Normale Supérieure’s Interdisciplinary Center for Strategic Issues in Paris.
“It was a traumatic experience for the French elite, realizing that our allies could abandon us,” Pincé added.
The cornerstone of Macron’s concept of “strategic autonomy” — investment in a credible, self-sufficient European defense to ensure the continent can militarily take care of itself without U.S. support — is now under scrutiny. Disruptive U.S. President Donald Trump has significantly undermined the transatlantic relationship and the NATO military alliance, aligning instead with a belligerent Russia.
While most of France’s European allies depend on America’s robust military and nuclear umbrella, the threatening presence of Vladimir Putin at the EU border, combined with Trump’s affinity for the Russian leader, is raising questions about U.S. reliability and prompting new responses.
A New Era
Macron’s insistence that Europe learn to stand up for itself was not always well received.
Neither were French warnings that America could one day turn away from Europe. “Nobody likes a Cassandra,” remarked a French official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Macron has faced criticism for a series of clumsy diplomatic moves and what critics describe as unrealistic assumptions regarding the potential of France’s nuclear deterrent to safeguard Europe, leading to struggles in gaining traction for his vision of an independent European defense apparatus.
France has also long faced accusations of arrogance and a blatant promotion of its own industrial interests under the guise of prioritizing European defense.
That perspective shifted rapidly following Trump’s return to the White House in January, as he began negotiating directly with Russia regarding an end to its war on Ukraine, effectively sidelining Europe and Kyiv in the discussions, igniting concerns over a potential diplomatic realignment with Moscow.
Just minutes after winning a critical snap election in Germany, the country’s conservative incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed for “independence” from Trump’s America, warning that NATO may soon be obsolete. Merz had previously suggested exploring nuclear cooperation with France and the U.K. as a replacement for the American nuclear umbrella — a startling shift from Germany’s historical pro-American stance.
On Wednesday, Merz traveled to Paris to meet with Macron, as influential figures in the EU’s most powerful nations seek a unified approach to tackle the potential Russian threat and navigate the complexities of Trump’s policies.
Germany’s dramatic shift was quickly recognized in Paris.
“We’ve changed eras, that’s very clear. We’re wondering if the United States is still an ally or now an adversary,” stated Valérie Hayer, one of Macron’s top aides in Brussels and president of the Renew Group in the European Parliament. “With Merz, we are getting one step closer to a European defense.”
‘Messianic Complex’
Trump’s explosive return arguably validates longstanding French warnings — dating back to the legendary General Charles de Gaulle — about the risks and conditions tied to U.S. dominance.
General de Gaulle, revered in France, led the resistance against Hitler’s Nazis during World War II and later became the founding father of France’s Fifth Republic in the late 1950s.
His relationship with the U.S. was complex, marked by loyalty during key moments but also a profound distrust stemming from World War II, as allies struggled to align on the framework for France’s liberation and even contemplated an occupation.
The Suez crisis “was a major factor in [his] thinking” about the U.S., according to historian Pincé.
When Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal on July 26, 1956, previously under French and British control and vital to their commercial and political interests, it prompted a military intervention by French, British, and Israeli forces to reclaim the strategic waterway.
However, with the U.S. focused on its Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union, Washington pressured London and Paris into an unwanted ceasefire, as Moscow threatened to back Egypt and escalate a potential nuclear confrontation.
A decade later, de Gaulle dramatically withdrew France from NATO’s integrated command, leading to the removal of U.S. military bases and troops from French territory. France continued to advance its atomic program, developing its own nuclear arsenal and a powerful defense industry with minimal ties to the U.S.
However, the high-level distrust was not unilateral.
“De Gaulle may be an honest fellow, but he has the Messianic complex,” then-U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt noted in a 1943 memo to U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill while discussing plans for France’s liberation.
Roosevelt and Churchill’s frustration with de Gaulle decades ago mirrors some irritation directed at Macron in recent years, as he has consistently advocated for Europe to become more autonomous from Washington — including in weaponry.
Few are dismissing his calls now.
Acknowledging past skepticism toward France, Hayer expressed confidence that European leaders would set aside previous differences.
“There was indeed mistrust, with many believing that France was maneuvering for its own interests. We have differences of opinion and sensitivities owing to our distinct histories and relationships with the United States,” the European lawmaker stated.
“However, we are now moving forward together because, frankly, Trump leaves us no other option,” she concluded.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Paris should be cautious before celebrating too loudly, as many in Europe had justifiable reasons to be wary of following France’s lead, according to Benjamin Tallis, director at the Berlin-based Democratic Strategy Initiative think tank.
Despite their grand rhetoric in the 1960s, “the French were never a credible alternative” to American power, he remarked. “European decision-makers recognized that they would be safer, more supported by the kind of power the U.S. could provide.”
Recently, under Macron, France has not demonstrated a sustained effort to back its strategic autonomy rhetoric with military capability and investment, only reaching NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense last year — a goal expected to rise this summer.
One reason for the reluctance towards France’s push for strategic autonomy is the overwhelming size of America’s military might — including its nuclear arsenal and nearly trillion-dollar defense budget.
According to a study by Defense News, Europeans would require five years to establish critical capabilities that the U.S. currently provides, such as battlefield command and control (C2), military satellites for intelligence, and deep-strike capabilities.
Countries like Germany and Poland, major purchasers of American weaponry, have built their foreign and defense policies around strong transatlantic ties, said Gesine Weber, a fellow at the Paris-based transatlantic think tank German Marshall Fund. They fear that relying on Paris in anticipation of a possible U.S. withdrawal from Europe may risk becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
However, while France’s approach to advocating for European defense has often been counterproductive — and nations like Poland are not yet prepared to abandon Washington — the time for polite hesitance is now definitively over.
As Weber succinctly stated: “Europeans must break the intellectual taboo about considering the security landscape without the U.S.”
“It’s quite the ‘I told you so’ moment for France; everyone in Paris is aware of it, and everyone at the Elysée understands the stakes,” she added.
