À la recherche d’une politique européenne alternative : le sénateur Michel Debré et ses interlocuteurs britanniques (1948-1958)

Seeking an alternative European policy: senator Michel Debré and his British interlocutors, 1948-1958.During the 4thRepublic Michel Debré’s political thinking and activity concentrated above all on the problem and the construction of Europe. All through this period –from 1948 to 1958 –he sat as a member of the Conseil de la République. Although he was convinced that Europe should be organized, Debré progressively moved away from the European construction actually built up and went to relentlessly fight against the treaties proposed by the Western diplomacies. According to him, France did not have a foreign policy but what couldinfluence its policy were British pressures and more generally the British attitude. Thus, he sought, to a certain extent successfully, to set a firm dialogue with a fewmembers of Her Majesty’s Government –in primis Duncan Sandys and Julian Amery –in order to lead them to modify the British government’s European policy and to influence France’s foreign policy.