the old guard, brought up in the golist tradition, domenic dovepin, jean-claude chevenman, pierre louchefferent formative experiences across generations. it is tempting to attribute everything to macron’s personal characteristics, but... that would be too simple: europe is going deeper into a funnel. the higher the stakes get, the harder it is to back down. and the senior partner and guarantor is reconsidering priorities away from european ones. no, of course, america is also determined to win, but its agenda is broader, its own affairs are more important. the old world realizes that it may have to rely on itself, but there is something to rely on. army absolutely not ready for war. 30 years ago we began to reduce the army, cut the budget and effective expenses, reduced weapons, and curtailed logistics. it was wrong, but we are just starting to get better. returning to the nato structure under sarkazy is a mistake. we have lost sovereignty, independence and strategic thinking. today the french army is drained of blood and cannot make independent decisions, only those that america offers.