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France being one of the original signatories to the European Union (EU) has a special place in the organisation and in the continent's destiny. Consequently, successive French presidents have jealously guarded its position within the body, tending to look upon the EU as one of its own.
French leaders prefer that new ideas for the development and strengthening of the EU should come from French politicians or diplomats, as they, along with another founder member, Germany, are the only ones capable of understanding the full intricacies of the various rules and regulations of what is now a cumbersome bureaucracy.
France is now starting its six-month stint as president of the EU, and has already indicated that there are various plans which it intends pushing through the EU parliament.
One is a revision to the common agricultural policy - a long-time sticking point among all members, as France, has the least efficient agricultural sector but gets the largest EU subsidy, mainly from countries with efficient and profitable farmlands.
But at the moment, France will be trying to get the Lisbon Treaty accepted by all members - except Ireland, which has already rejected it. In likewise manner, the Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said there is no point in signing up to the agreement, as it should be unanimous and as there is a rejection already on the table, following through on it will be a waste of time.
However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, angered by the Irish rejection, is intent on proceeding with getting a majority approval, despite it being contrary to agreed policy.
Sarkozy is convinced the rejection was due to incompetence of the EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and made an undiplomatic accusation against the EU official even before France was sworn in as the president of the bloc. It looks like there will be some heated debates in Brussels.
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