Идейное наследие Шарля де Голля. II. Национальная парадигма. Часть 2. Концепт величия Франции

Abstract

The imperative of France's grandeur was one of de Gaulle’s national idea essential elements which is as widely known as it is often misinterpreted. Although such classical vocabulary was disappearing from European political discourse, the founder of Gaullism used the notion of greatness strongly rooted in French political culture as a mobilizing symbolic force for meeting crucial domestic challenges. The motive of greatness was also closely linked with the principles of France’s autonomy and global responsibility, on which de Gaulle pivoted the positioning of the Fifth Republic in the post-war world. All this conflicted with the supranational Euro-Atlantic project, which was the main reason for the sharp negativism against de Gaulle's strategy and rhetoric, accused of "archaic thinking" by his opponents. In fact, the "last great Frenchman’s” concept of "greatness" was quite unorthodox in its reasoning and content, which are of particular interest as part of his relevant ideological legacy. Instead of axiomatic superiority, restoration of former power, civilizing mission, he insisted on the importance of high goal setting, vast undertakings and historical actorness, which were in de Gaulle’s view the existential imperative of French history.