FRENCH PUSH FOR UNION WITH GERMANY

In a continuation of French policy to amass influence by leveraging the political and economic might of other states and promote regulatory Euro-statism as an alternative model to " Anglo-American " capitalism, the French are pushing for direct political union with Germany.

This is a high risk gambit for the French as it risks reawakening slumbering nationalist passions in both France and Germany;the latter of which is still recovering from reunification with East Germany while France saw proto-Fascist candidate Jean Marie LePen come in second in the last presidential election on the strength of an anti-EU vote. If successful however, such a merger would recreate a state that harkens backward to the brief empire of Charlemagne that once encompassed France, Germany, the low countries and northern Italy. Such a continental behemoth might prove too much for the British to stomach who have sought to play a moderating, balancing role in the EU vis-a-vis the more statist and anti-American Frenco-German position.  ¶ 9:23 AM