The French presidency of the European Union: a tour de force in the making or the chronicle of a predicted failure?

Cahiers de la sécurité et de la justice 2022/2 (No. 55), June 2022

"The contribution that an organized and vibrant Europe can make to civilization is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. In championing [...] a united Europe, France's essential aim has always been to serve peace. Europe was not made, we had war". Robert Schuman, Declaration of May 9, 1950.
On January 1, 2022, France took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for a six-month term, in a most troubled context. Rereading the words spoken by Robert Schuman in his famous 1950 declaration is a sobering reminder that, for better or for worse, France is not a member state like any other.