Hubert Védrine is considered one of the best French specialists in international issues. He draws on 19 years of experience as Secretary General at the Élysée and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2002.
A specialist in geopolitics, he is also an important writer to whom we owe some twenty books, two of which were published this year. On Friday late afternoon, Hubert Védrine was the guest of the Felletin association, Le Plaisir de lire, at the Felletin multipurpose hall.
Hubert Védrine, author of “Camus, notre rempart” (Éditions Plon), invited the audience to reread the writer after highlighting a few traits of his personality and his work, stating that Camus embodies an ethic of life to which he has always adhered. He spent much more time on “Grands diplomates” (Éditions Perrin), a voluminous work that he edited, calling on recognized specialists, and signing the introduction and conclusion. In his speech, drawing on the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, he returned to the necessary balance of power, the role of the diplomat (a real profession) and the basic principles of negotiation today polluted by unbridled communication.
According to him, we must admit the need for secret moments to prepare compromises without compromise, “unlike publicity which pushes us to play the bully and react urgently”. There is no doubt, in his eyes, permanent transparency is the death of negotiation.
Using anecdotes, while drawing on recent history, he focused his attention on the Middle East and Ukraine. In the first case, according to him, “the solution lies in the creation of a Palestinian state”. As for Ukraine, Hubert Védrine showed himself to be in full agreement with Kissinger, considering that many mistakes have been made since the collapse of the USSR, the West showing great naivety and having been deluding itself for 30 years. He now adheres to Biden’s policy which considers that the USA and Western countries should not engage in war but help Ukraine which is however not in a position to win the war, nor is Russia for that matter. So, we should move towards a freeze by mutual exhaustion, an intermediate situation with a ceasefire as the key. The former minister, affirming that we must relearn how to manage the balance of power, also questioned the role of China which leads a global international policy, he shows confidence in the place of France in Africa, praising in passing the wisdom of previous French presidents in relations with Algeria. Hubert Védrine continued his discussions with the public during a long signing session organized by Françoise Vissérias from the La Licorne bookstore.
This article is originally published on lamontagne.fr
