Two clashing visions of France were before the French voters. They chose, with many reservations, Macron and rejected Le Pen, but not wholly, for, her opposition to the EU, in some measure, enjoys the support of a sizeable section of French society.

Against the backdrop of the Paris attacks, there is a need to introspect about the effectiveness of the approaches adopted by major states to counter terrorism.

The recent French intervention in Mali comes almost after a year of turmoil in the country. Mali needs to achieve an internal political process which will strengthen the government’s mandate and provide economic security and sustainable development to the country.

All that the western powers have achieved so far with regime change is to propel into powerful positions an assorted lot of Islamists as well as autocrats with medieval beliefs and a penchant for terrorism.

The ongoing global financial crisis has had an increasing strain on the defence budgets of different European countries. In the case of France, an intelligent and anticipatory/ preventive planning has mitigated the effects of the crisis but challenges remain, which have to be taken seriously and addressed effectively, if France wants to maintain its strategic autonomy.

Sarkozy’s speech at ISRO was an interesting mix of issues relating to geostrategic significance, business, and collaboration in science and technology.

The question is not whether bilateral co-operation among member-states is a substitute for common European defence.