Last month, before the strikes and demonstrations that have created a crisis in France began, an upbeat Jacques Chirac met with TIME Europe editor Christopher Redman and Paris bureau chief Thomas Sancton to discuss his views of France, Europe and the world. It was the first interview Chirac has granted to any foreign publication since his election as President in May. Excerpts from their conversation:
TIME: Mr. President, what are your main objectives as you lead France into the next century?
Chirac: The bipolar world we have known is finished, and the world of tomorrow will be multipolar. One of the essential poles will be Europe. I think that the first objective of my term in office will be to work for the success of Europe. The second will be NATO modernization and the creation of a European defense pillar within the alliance. The third objective is to develop solidarity between Europe and two zones that are linked to it: the Mediterranean and Africa. The fourth objective is to confront certain important problems, such as aid to developing countries, unemployment, monetary stability, drugs and terrorism, and to try to provide solutions.
TIME: How do you assess France's main strengths and weaknesses in facing these challenges?
Chirac: France has important advantages: it is the world's fourth economic and commercial power, a permanent member of the Security Council, a nuclear power and the main contributor of troops to the U.N. We are not an average nation. France also has an old humanist and universalist tradition, strongly attached to human rights and democracy...Our weaknesses are mainly the result of 14 years of lax management, which consisted of spending more than was reasonable and led to the accumulation of deficits and debts. [Another weakness] is a certain resistance to change...The labor unions and professional organizations have a lot of trouble understanding that there are necessary evolutions [and that] it is better to spend money putting people to work than to pay them not to work.
TIME: How would you describe the state of Franco-American relations today?
Chirac: Apart from certain superficial crises, relations have always been excellent, and will remain so because it is in the nature of things. You can't change two centuries of history. [But] I will not hide the fact that I am very worried about the isolationism of the current American Congress. Concerning aid to developing countries, for example, the European Union, with a gdp roughly equivalent to America's, spends some $31 billion a year and the U.S. $9 billion. I think that the one who pays is the one who has the political power in the final analysis. I hope President Clinton will react against this alarming tendency toward a sort of isolationism that is very dangerous for the whole world.
TIME: You played an important role in unblocking the situation in Bosnia. Do you resent the fact that the U.S. took control of the peace process?
Chirac: No, not at all. The Americans are one year away from presidential elections, so it's a highly politicized time for them. So I take that into account. Besides, it is by joining our efforts that we put the peace process on track, and I intend to maintain the same level of cooperation.
TIME: Are you worried about American cultural imperialism?