Abstract
What can be the goal for a state that is no more an empire in an environment where empire cannot be a goal anymore? In this paper, it is argued that there is a classic French geopolitical stance which has conserved a large part of its characteristics over centuries and which can be compared to the attitudes of other European states. It is precisely because this long‐lasting, consistent set of ideas and behaviours is coming apart that it is urgent to put it in the perspective of its own historical development. After some general remarks on the particular part played by France on the European geopolitical checkerboard, the fate of the ‘special relationship’ between France and Africa, as a dramatic case study of the widening gap between the traditional imperial stance and newly emerging realities, is considered. The third aspect of this reflection is an analysis of the original characteristics of the European Union in terms of international relations and the impact of this new context on the evolution of the French state.
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