France has clearly demonstrated over the past 50 years or so that Greece can rely on its support in hard times. It is obviously not driven by principle or sentiment alone. The Greek government played the game of diplomacy very well on the deal for the frigates at a time when France was under pressure from the loss of a crucial nuclear submarine contract with Australia, while it had also opened up the Rafale fighter jet market to other countries, too.
Without France, it is not at all certain that Greece would have become a member of the European Economic Community – so much is proved by historical research. Konstantinos Karamanlis acknowledged the fact and did everything he could to show Giscard d’Estaing his personal and the nation’s gratitude for the role he had played. The French leader may not have been aware of it when he decided, in July 1974, to put a French state airplane at Karamanlis’ disposal for the return flight to Athens, but it was the single most symbolic event that led to crowds of people hailing the Greek-French alliance in the streets of Greece’s capital.
France’s role was not just important in getting Greece into the European family; it was also important in keeping it there in 2015. Every historical source shows that Francois Hollande did everything in his power to persuade Germany’s Angela Merkel that while Grexit may have seemed like a workable technical plan, it would be absolutely devastating to Europe, both morally and geopolitically. The French president also flew to Berlin as soon as he took office, after learning that Wolfgang Schaeuble had nearly convinced Merkel of the need for a Greek “time-out” from the euro.
Today, France is a country that understands Greece’s sensibilities and concerns vis-a-vis Turkey more than any other northern European country. This is evident in its intention to include Greece in the hard core of the emerging European security framework. There are, of course, diverging interests and disagreements in some cases. Greek military officials have complained for decades about how difficult and expensive “French service” can be for various defense systems. On the other hand, they point out that when Greece needs to order something urgently for “strategic” reasons, Paris’ response is immediate and positive.
So, what we have in France is a true and time-tested friend, and that is no small thing at a moment in history when everything is changing on the global geopolitical chessboard and it’s hard to tell who is truly an ally and who is not, or who might become tomorrow’s ally, possibly someone you may never have considered in the past. A solid geopolitical relationship, free of exaggerations and unrealistic expectations, is always useful and reassuring, especially in such times. Whether and how it may change under the next French government is something we still have time to consider.