France’s loss of influence in Europe is no longer at stake today, because the notion of influence presupposes that the overriding preoccupation of EU member states is to advance their own national interests. If Europe were only about gaining the upper hand, it would generate perpetual conflict.
现今法国在欧洲影响力的丧失已成定论。因为这种影响力概念的预设前提是欧盟各成员国压倒一切的要务是争取自身的国家利益。如果欧洲只是让各国争强斗狠，那么它就会产生持续不断的冲突。而现实是虽然要通过彼此妥协来逐步实现，但欧洲还在往前走。