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Sarkozy survives vote over Nato | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
The French parliament has backed President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to take France fully back into Nato, rejecting a no-confidence motion. | |
Opposition critics and some among Mr Sarkozy's UMP party say the move will weaken French independence from the US. | Opposition critics and some among Mr Sarkozy's UMP party say the move will weaken French independence from the US. |
But France's national assembly voted by 329 votes to 238 in favour of Mr Sarkozy's government. | |
The policy reverses a 1966 decision by the late President Charles de Gaulle to pull out of Nato's military command. | |
France is already among the top five contributors to Nato operations and currently has some 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, where it has suffered significant losses. | France is already among the top five contributors to Nato operations and currently has some 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, where it has suffered significant losses. |
'Deep misgivings' | 'Deep misgivings' |
After a debate over France's relations with Nato two weeks ago, Prime Minister Francois Fillon wrote to opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate offering to submit his government to a confidence motion. | |
France is already among the top five contributors to Nato operations Q&A: France and NatoFrance ends four-decade Nato riftFrench face tough Afghan reality | France is already among the top five contributors to Nato operations Q&A: France and NatoFrance ends four-decade Nato riftFrench face tough Afghan reality |
President Sarkozy subsequently formally announced in a speech last Thursday that he wanted France to rejoin Nato's military command. | President Sarkozy subsequently formally announced in a speech last Thursday that he wanted France to rejoin Nato's military command. |
He said there was no sense in France - a founder member of Nato - having no say in the organisation's decisions on military strategy. | He said there was no sense in France - a founder member of Nato - having no say in the organisation's decisions on military strategy. |
"This rapprochement with Nato ensures our national independence," he told experts at the Ecole Militaire in Paris. "To distance ourselves would limit our independence and our room for manoeuvre." | "This rapprochement with Nato ensures our national independence," he told experts at the Ecole Militaire in Paris. "To distance ourselves would limit our independence and our room for manoeuvre." |
Mr Sarkozy had hoped to formalise the move before France and Germany host Nato's 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg next month. | |
Ahead of Tuesday's debate, Prime Minister Fillon told the National Assembly: "In 1966, at the height of East-West tensions, our withdrawal constituted a shock. But in 2009, our return constitutes only an adjustment." | Ahead of Tuesday's debate, Prime Minister Fillon told the National Assembly: "In 1966, at the height of East-West tensions, our withdrawal constituted a shock. But in 2009, our return constitutes only an adjustment." |