From Arch Foes to Friendly Neighbors

One might not exactly describe ties between Germany and France today as "cozy," but compare that to the atmosphere of deeply entrenched enmity preceding the end of World War II and suddenly neighborly relations never seem to have looked better.

Indeed relations between the two European powers plummeted after every bloody military encounter they had. Following the 1870/71 Franco-German war, World War I and the Treaty of Versailles and the occupation of France during World War II, the two nations broke off all diplomatic relations and remained arch foes.

But just two decades after the end of World War II, the far-sighted heads of state of the time, French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, came up with the Franco-German Friendship Pact, also known as the Elysée Treaty, to kick-start the process of reconciliation.

Increased military cooperation

The main aim of the treaty, which was signed on January 22, 1963, was to harmonize Franco-German security and defense concepts. De Gaulle and Adenauer planned to intensify mutual cooperation as a way of coming to terms with the past and moving on towards the future.

The plan was not simply to crown the bilateral cooperation that had been working well since the 1950s, but rather to be able to influence and control the future European policies of the respective partner. Fears that Germany might try to go its own way in its policy towards communist Eastern Europe played a big role.

The governments of both nations put special emphasis on the exchange of military personnel and strengthening mutual cooperation when it came to armaments.

One of the most significant examples of the cooperation was the "Alpha-Jet," the first jet aircraft to be completed in Germany after the end of the war, the work of German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The Franco-German pact was also responsible for creation of the transport aircraft "Transall C160" and the anti-aircraft system "Roland."

Ever since the Elysée Treaty was signed, the Germans and French have not just been meeting regularly at the highest political level but also encouraging a robust exchange of soldiers and generals. In this way, soldiers have the opportunity to learn about the training and workings of their partner army.

For Germany, France and Europe

During the German-French summit in Karlsruhe in 1988, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterand reached an agreement on a mutual large-scale military unit with a rotating commando, called the Franco-German brigade. The two statesmen even went one step further and formed a Franco-German Defense and Security Council, laying the foundation for a European pillar in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The end of the cold war and communism saw the creation of a mutual European military unit, the Eurocorps. Besides Germany and France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain also signed up as contributors.

The high level of trust that increased Franco-German military cooperation also brought about the unthinkable: German troops participated in the French national day parade in Paris on July 14, 1994 as part of the Eurocorps mandate. It was widely hailed as a highlight of Franco-German military cooperation.