ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the continuity and changes in French security policy since the end of the Cold War in general and the events of 9/11. During the Cold War, French leaders had a tendency to present Paris as a check on Washington's transatlantic and global leadership and behave in ways that reflected that perspective. The logical point of departure for a discussion of contemporary French security policy is a review of the general characteristics of the strategies it has pursued in the recent past, which, in this case, relate to the Cold War era. France's vision for the future of the transatlantic security relationship reflects broader European concerns over the predominance of American power in the post-Cold War world and the Bush administration's increasingly proactive expression of its political influence and use of its armed forces since the events of 9/11.
