Paris Sets Rules for Joint Force With Germans

France set ground rules Monday for a proposed joint Franco-West German fighting unit as senior officers from both countries met in Paris to discuss ways to step up military cooperation.

French Defense Minister Andre Giraud said the brigade must be outside the integrated North Atlantic Treaty Organization command structure and should be covered by France’s independent nuclear umbrella.

“The question now is to how to use this unit, because we cannot envisage putting French soldiers in a position where they would not be covered by some level of nuclear deterrence,” he added.

Giraud was addressing the opening session of a five-day seminar of French and West German officers, the first such meeting to discuss ways to integrate their armed forces further.

Giraud also repeated his strong reservations on superpower disarmament moves, saying the scrapping of nuclear weapons in Europe would not alone bolster peace.

Link to Nuclear Deterrence

“There can be no security in Europe unless conventional defense is linked to nuclear deterrence,” he said.

The minister, an ardent supporter of nuclear weapons, said disarmament should begin with the Soviet Bloc reducing its conventional forces and scrapping its chemical weapons.

On nuclear deterrence, France has an independent strike force, including battlefield weapons, while West Germany is banned by its constitution from possessing atomic weapons.

West Germany has 72 Pershing 1A missiles which are armed with nuclear warheads that are under U.S. control. Washington and Bonn have rejected Soviet demands that these weapons be included in any East-West accord on banning short- and medium-range missiles from Europe.

Giraud, addressing the issue of who should command the unit, said it would be separate from the NATO structure but could still operate with alliance forces.

“It would not be subordinated to the integrated structure and thus would show its European character,” he said.

Questioned by reporters later, Giraud noted that France still plays a prominent role in NATO. “What we do not want is for our forces to be under an American general,” he said. The supreme commander of NATO forces is U.S. Gen. John R. Galvin.