The French President has confirmed that he wants his country to become a full member of NATO again, ending more than 40 years of self-imposed exile from the central command. France pulled out of NATO’s nerve centre in March 1966 to distance itself from the United States. But now, Nicolas Sarkozy says it is time France was back in NATO’s inner circle.
 
He told a defence conference in Paris: “Our strategic thinking can not remain stuck in a world where conditions governing our security have radically changed. I think independence rests on knowing where your family is, and that your family doesn’t doubt you.”
 
The French Defence Minister Herve Morin told the  conference in Paris that ministers are now convinced that France can renew its relations with NATO, and remain an independent ally of the US at the same time.

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