A poorly sold treaty in Paris and Berlin: a communication error, a political fault
(B2) The Elysée, like the Chancellery to a lesser extent, showed a certain awkwardness in their communication on the Franco-German treaty signed this Tuesday (January 22) in Aix-La-Chapelle
Instead of circulating the Treaty as soon as it was finalized or adopted, Paris and Berlin dragged on publishing the text. They preferred first of all to praise the content in press releases, with a few sentences all in emphasis, underlining how the Franco-German couple was beautiful and wonderful. Two press releases published on January 8 by the Elysée and on January 9 by the Chancellery testify to this (1). We had to wait another good week to see the published text (Friday 18 January in the afternoon).
At a time of lack of confidence in the media and politicians, and the all-powerful internet, this has left the field open to all eccentric ideas. The phantasmagorical rumor of the German tutelage of Alsace Lorraine - a big schoolboy joke - or that of the sharing of the French seat on the Security Council - a distorted interpretation - have thus found a breeding ground all the more easily as the text original was not available.
This delay is inexcusable. This is not only a mistake, it is a political fault, a certain lack of democratic virtue. All this to make a success of a small blow of com '. The Franco-German couple would have deserved a little more consideration from its leaders.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
(1) B2 has from that moment produced a first publication in extenso of articles relating to defense and diplomacy, from a German version 'fallen from the truck' (read: Politics, diplomacy, defence, the first elements of the Franco-German Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle).
Read also: Tired of the 'blabla' on misinformation. Let's start by informing
Indeed. Successive governments have failed in their information/explanation/communication obligations on European issues in general. The same deficiency will affect the preparation of the European elections. Multiple reports (including parliamentary ones) have denounced this constant “failure”, the effects of which on public opinion are deleterious. One of the reasons is the absence of a public body explicitly responsible for this function. The “Government Information Service” proved manifestly unfit to assume it – as did the successive State Secretariats or Ministries of European Affairs. It is surprising that the Macron Presidency – despite being very Europhile – did not plan a strong initiative in this area. JGG
Well, nothing new in this “new” Treaty. Beyond repeating the very good intentions of “changing so that everything stays the same” with regard to the EU, both agreed that the EU should not have a single seat at the UNSC, but a double seat, one for France, which retains its own, the other for Germany, which is elevated by this to the rank of world power, provided that it does not acquire military nuclear power.
Obviously for France, knowing that the rise of Germany can only come from a much larger package and therefore much less probable, it is a question of playing the clock. Also to divert the Germans, by dangling them from an improbable future, from a more pro-EU stance demanding that France cede its seat to the EU, or at least to the collective core of the most coherent Member States in favor of a European international identity. But it's probably too early...