Jacques Godfrain, former minister between 1995 and 1997, is the honorary president of the Charles de Gaulle Foundation. Lionel Tourtier is a member of the Charles de Gaulle Foundation convention.
For us, authentic Gaullists – that is, those who fully recognize themselves in the ideas, method, and ambition of the General – the situation of our nation has entered a critical phase. We have “misjudged France” due to the crisis of democratic confidence, the weakening of our sovereignty, our loss of international influence, which is much needed in the current conflicts, industrial decline, insecurity, precarity, and the gradual reduction of freedoms.
It would be easy to give in to nostalgia or systematic denunciation, but the stakes are higher: reconnecting with our history to give it a contemporary extension. As the General had reminded us: “France is truly itself only at the forefront; only vast enterprises are capable of compensating for the ferment of dispersion that its people carry within themselves.”
Do we still have the means for such ambition? Yes, still for a while. Do we have the will and courage? It is up to each of us to position ourselves, in responsibility towards our elders and our descendants.
Les quatre clefs du redressement
In 1958, General de Gaulle made this simple diagnosis: “The Republic can only live if the state is strong and legitimate, and if the people recognize themselves in its institutions.” Today, four keys seem essential to meet these requirements: sovereignty, subsidiarity, arbitration, participation.
La souveraineté : d’un projet politique européen à une dérive normative?
Europe was built on a founding misunderstanding, because from the outset, two visions opposed each other. On one side, a political Europe of states, based on voluntary cooperation. On the other hand, a supranational Europe, based on delegation…
