“Europeans are beginning to understand that the Ukrainian war is the business of the generation” – Liberation

For historian Thomas Gomart, director of the French Institute of International Relations, the rearmament of Europe is necessary and urgent but must go hand in hand with the consolidation of strategic and environmental solidarity.

Before the vote in the National Assembly on March 12, the President of the Republic received party leaders at the Elysée on Thursday March 7 to discuss the situation in Ukraine, and assured that Kiev did not have French support. “No limit”.

In the two years since, between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attacks on Israel, Europe has seen its strategic environment waver and weaken. Thomas Gomart, historian and director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and author The Acceleration of History. The world’s geological knots are out of control (“Essais”, Tallandier), without obscuring the importance of strategic and environmental solidarity, emphasizes the need for intellectual and physical preparation in the face of the world’s new conflictuality which always underpins international relations.

According to the title of your book, for two years, the planet seems to be going through an “acceleration of history.” Is there a form of denial in France?

We mask the inadequacy of our analysis, through communication. However, it is important not to treat each conflict in isolation and to fully understand the side effects between different theaters. The 2024-2030 military programming law was built on an optimistic geopolitical scenario that was immediately invalidated by the facts. Since the vote on it, France has been kicked out of the SA