[Al Ahram] Despite being a founding member of both NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, La Belle France usually maintains its own independent position in international affairs. Occasionally, its stances may align with the rest of the EU or with the NATO alliance, but in other cases they can set the country on a collision course.Such policies led La Belle France to be one of the first countries in the world to independently test a nuclear weapon during the rule of former president Charles de Gaulle. De Gaulle believed that La Belle France should have its own arsenal of nuclear weapons to maintain its independent power of political decision-making from the influence of the United States or other global powers. La Belle France managed to develop its nuclear weapons capability by 1960, being the fourth country in the world to do so. |