La France et les Balkans de 1944 à 1955
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.44, No.1-2, 2003, pages 109-136
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109-136
Parallel Title:
France and the Balkans 1944-1955
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Abstract:
Since World War I France had a geopolitical vision for the Balkans: shehoped that ethnic tensions would ease, and that as many Balkan countries aspossible would get together to resist foreign threats, coming from Germanybefore 1945, from the USSR afterwards.After 1945, and even more after 1949 and the end of the civil war, Franco-Greek relations did not pose any major problem and Paris supported,cautiously but unmistakably, the Royal government. It was different with thecommunist countries in that region. With Rumania and Bulgaria as soon as1946 there were no meaningful relations left. The case was different withYugoslavia, because of the Tito-Stalin break. There France’s role was notunimportant, even if she hesitated between trying to regain her formertraditional role in the Balkans, without taking into account the changed ideologicallandscape, or stressing Western unity against communism. Supportersof the former line were ready to go very far with Tito, those of the later didnot forget that Tito remained after all a communist leader and they were quitecautious and contented themselves with Tito’s break with Moscow withoutsharing the illusion there could be a “national” kind of communism.Generally speaking the French were anxious not to provoke the Soviets.That is why, for instance, they were quite lukewarm towards Greece’s andTurkey’s admission in NATO.By 1955 Paris witnessed with satisfaction the lessening of ethnic tensions.The Greek-Yugoslav thaw allowed Macedonia and Northern Epirus to becomemuch calmer. As for Yugoslavia, one believed in the Titoist kind of federalsystem to solve the problem of relations among the different nationalities. Buta new problem was seen in Cyprus with the Greek-Turkish tension, and onewas conscious of the dwindling French influence because of France’s problems(the war in Algeria and an outmoded political system) and because the Anglo-Saxons and the Germans were developping their influence in that region much more efficiently.
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Γαλλία-Βαλκάνια, 1944-1955
