Les convergences franco-polonaises de la Mission militaire française en Pologne à la visite de Charles de Gaulle en 1967

Since the 16th century, France has been looking for a trusted partner in Central Europe. Poland seemed predestined to play this role. The transformation of the Polish-French convergence into a common destiny on the European stage was especially feared by Bismarck when he reorganised Europe for his own benefit. Unfortunately, our deep knowledge of each other has rarely been accompanied by full mutual understanding. The period of Polish independence, during which the French military mission helped Poland to form an army, was exceptional. The Polish experience refined de Gaulle’s geopolitical training. It was his first confrontation with Russia, his first judgment on “strategic invariants”. He also learned the geostrategic culture that he would develop on a European scale, such as a need for mobile armoured weapons. The paths of Poland and France diverged with the German-Polish non-aggression pact and the lack of vision of the French leaders. De Gaulle was a man of living history, a man who knew how to discern the deep continuities on which he relied to anticipate future prospects. This is why Poland was his first commitment outside France, and then his first official trip to a country under the Soviet yoke. A visit during which he met 3 million Poles and in which he felt his last international initiative. It combined emotional dimensions, cultural and intellectual proximity and potential political interests, but the constraints of the Cold War dictated its modest results.