At the same time, successive EU enlargements over the decades have brought in other powerful contenders, chiefly Spain and the UK, as well as smaller countries who are unwilling to bow before French-German leadership. In short, France has lost control of Europe.
与此同时，欧盟几十年来的不断扩张也吸引进了其他有力的竞争者，主要是西班牙和英国，以及那些不愿意在法-德领导下俯首称臣的小国家。简而言之，法国已经失去了对欧洲的控制。这并不新鲜，但是这却是最近才开始被了解，这对法国是个伤害。