France Overview Nations // North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

OVERVIEW France is one of the leading industrial and military powers of NATO. In 1966, during a time of strained relations with the U.S. and Britain, the French government opted out of the NATO military command structure. Then-President Nicolas Sarkozy returned France to the NATO command structure in April 2009. Paris disagreed with Washington's Iraq policies and refused to send military personnel to take part in the invasion to rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein. France was heavily involved...