HISTORY AND CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF GERMANY
571
Gennans would find a way that differed from the bellicose way of the
Third Reich. The French had many problems in dealing with Gennany,
first of all because the French population would be much smaller than
that of a reunified Gennany. On the economic level, the French neigh–
bor might not be able to compete. The second image is the representa–
tion of a country which needs re-education, under specific conditions.
Also, Gennany remains the hereditary enemy, the one that reminds us of
the period after the defeat in the war of 1870. Until 1914, Alsace-Lor–
raine was annexed to Gennany, without consultation. The other atti–
tude in this process of reeducation is the purification of Gennany. Ger–
many is seen as a country which is not noble. Because it is outside of the
nonns, it has to become exemplary; and it has to prove to the other na–
tions and to itself that it has ridden itself of the old ghosts, that it is
strongly anchored in values of humanitarianism, human rights, and
democracy. The third attitude in the reeducation process is that
Gennany should follow the universalist goals of the French.
It
should be
controlled, to avoid becoming too powerful. Gennany's foreign policy
should be controlled by the European Economic Community (EEC) -
as de Gaulle sometimes used to wish.
Next to the image of a marked country, Gennany is perceived as a
mature country. The French also seem to perceive France and Gennany
as complementary and thus needing a common
Aussenpolitik .
That was,
for example, the view of the Elysee when the two governments were
ready to consult each other before making decisions on foreign policy,
and more particularly, on questions of common interest in order to gain
as similar positions as possible. Therefore, they advocate complementarity
of interest and a real partnership. As
Fran~ois
Mitterrand said in 1990 in
Munich, when he met with Helmut Kohl after the fall of the Berlin
Wall: "I want to tell the Gennan people again and again, that all our
wishes for them at this moment of their history are full of emotion, full
of memories, and full of hopes." The link Mitterrand tried to build with
Kohl is indeed a strong one. He also said, "Our two countries will go
on to become a real force for the building of Europe." This link is
perceived on the level of monetary and foreign policy, as well as on
social issues. Most of the French voices talked about a policy between
France and Germany against unemployment. According to Michel
Rocard, when he was president of the Socialist Party in 1994: "The
European Community must recognize that it is responsible for the
relations among populations, for fighting against unemployment. We
need a common aim between Gennany and France to achieve this."
Other observations were less measured, such as when Jean-Marie Le Pen
