Entretien avec Jean-Marc de la Sablière

Europe As a Missed Opportunity

“…However, the rise of nationalism between 1870 and 1914 slowed down the movement in favour of European unity. Moreover, internationalism, not limited in scope to the European continent, gained more and more influence in pacifist and socialist circles and tended to eclipse Europeanism (Dulphy & Manigand 2006).…”

“…The shock of the war led to the emergence and development of a significant Europeanist movement, both in France and elsewhere in Europe. Although it developed mainly in the international circles of the League of Nations in Geneva (Dulphy & Manigand 2006), the unification of Europe was then regarded as an important goal and was supported by specific organisations and journals, as well as by a European network of elites (Chabot 2005). French actors from both intellectual and economic circles took a significant role in this, and were supported by French politicians from the Radical party (the French centrist political movement, very influential during the Third Republic), the Christian-Democrats and the non-Marxist left.…”

“…Through European unification, France aimed for "reincarnation" (Brzezinski 1997: 91) or "extension" (Delanty 2005). French actors saw Europe as a way of pursuing national interests (by stimulating economic modernisation and growth) and extending national policies to the European level (Dulphy and Manigand 2006). Europe was then an instrument of national power and a place for the projection of French national identity through the creation a "French" Europe, i.e.…”