Many people here in Europe consider that Jacques Chirac (French president) made the right choice when he firmly opposed to a military intervention in Irak. The French president has been portrayed as the apostle of Peace (he has even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize).
But now that the Anglo-American coalition seems to have cleared the country, France tries to play a part in its rebuilding.

Many editors have made fun of French diplomacy because of this behaviour. People said that France was not willing to share the risks but was willing to share the benefits from war.

As a pacifist, my first answer to this kind of assertion would be that France doesn't want to get its share of profit but that our country wants the UN to be involved in the reshaping of Irak so that it doesn't become a US-led country. Indeed, it's funny to see how - throughout history - the United States have used the concept of freedom of the people. Sometimes they used it to legitimate rebel uprisings, sometimes they used it to set up new governments. I guess true freedom is not something you are given, it's not something you have... it's something you fight for everyday. And that goes for mental freedom as well. As Etienne de la Boetie wrote in his "Discours de la servitude volontaire"... most people live in chains because they don't want to be free. Nietzsche added that every person only sees the truth they can bear.

So the USA and the UK have now almost finished destroying Saddam Hussein's regime and Jacques Chirac comes knocking at their door... I have to admit that, even though I did not agree with the war in Irak (and I was happy with most of what Jacques Chirac said about this war)... the French behaviour could be interpreted in many other ways than the pacifist one. Indeed, before the war Chirac clearly precised that it wasn't war he opposed... but the fact that this war would be waged without the support of the UN.

Some elements could be very interesting to analyse the French behaviour in the past conflit.
First of all, Chirac's Gaullist attitude. During the cold war, France had become a medium-sized power... its only way to exist was through "l'exception française". An exception which was not only palpable in the cultural field but also on the political one. Many acts of De Gaulle were meant to show the world that France could be some kind of alternative to the USA and the USSR. Acquiring the nuclear bomb (in 1962) and leaving NATO were two clear signs. France also recognized the Popular Republic of China as a country 20 years before the USA did. France kept diplomatic relations with the USSR and lots of African countries.

Jacques Chirac was a minister of Charles de Gaulle and founded a party called Rassemblement Pour la République which openly referred to the Gaullist legacy. Part of the Gaullist policy concerning foreign affairs was that since France could not rival with the two superpowers, its only possibility to exist as an important country was to propose something different.

Here we see that Chirac's move against the war in Irak could be interpreted as a Gaullist action.
Another interesting point is the fact that a large group of people with arabo-muslim origins live in France. These people (who used to be poorer and more discriminated) have traditionnaly voted for left-wing parties but when he was re-elected last year Jacques Chirac tried to show this community that right-wing understood them too. One of the elements of this pro-arab campaign was Tokia Saifi's nomination as "secrétaire d'état". She was the first woman of Arabian origin who had such institutional responsibilities. Jacques Chirac was also the first French president to go to Algeria since this country got independent from France in 1962 (Evian Treaty).

His being against the war made him even more popular within the French arabo-muslim community.
A last interesting viewpoint is that France produces a lot of weapons. Large companies such as Dassault build dozens of combat planes and helicopters every year. 57% of the weapons acquired by Irak under Saddam Hussein came from France... this element also questions us on the motives of the French position in the Iraki crisis : was Jacques Chirac's decision only influenced by his love for world peace and international institutions ? I don't think so. I think that asking the UN to play a bigger part is essential to French interests (cause the UN is the only way for smaller countries to have their say)... but many other French interests were at stake here.

So the day has not come when Jacques Chirac will grab a guitar and sing "Give peace a Chance". France didn't act out of faith in pacifism. Like many other countries in many situations, I think France just acted out of interest... and if our interest had been to wage a war, I don't think Jacques Chirac would have shown such Ghandi-like pacifist passion.

When I first bought my Internation Student Identity Card I was given a little booklet in English with information on dozens of countries. This booklet which aimed at making it easier for you to travel abroad also gave information on France. It said "beware, France is a country where the police have a lot of power. You'll need to always have your ID with you, cause you can be controlled anytime. You'll also need to know that French policemen have the right to search your bags and the trunk of your car". I was really stunned. To me, all these things sounded really normal. I always have my ID with me and the police have searched my bags several times already. I didn't realize that these things were so un-common until I read it on that booklet.

And now things are getting even worse. The new "Ministre de l'intérieur", Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy has passed a series of laws giving extra powers to the police.

In 2002 he created the Groupes d'Intervention Rapide (a judge, 10 policemen... and no warrants anymore - they can go anywhere anytime - a dreadful example of that was when the police intervened in the Parisian suburbs this Winter : at 3:00 AM dozens of policemen woke up entire buildings, banging on doors, rushing inside of the appartments, jamming drawers and mattresses... and in the end all they found was 30 grams of hash). This gestapo-like behaviour is now perfectly legal for the French police.

New things concern prostitution : the judicial concept of prostitution has been enlarged thanks to Mr Sarkozy's concept of "raccolage passif" (passive prostitution) : anyone standing alone for a while in the street with sexy clothes on can be prosecuted...
Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this year has threatened to censor a book entitled "rose bonbon" because it dealt with the love of a man for a young girl... but Mr Aillagon, minister of culture stood in his way for the sake of freedom of expression
In november, Mr Sarkozy also tried to send 150 gipsies back to eastern Europe... but he was obliged not to when the press found out that 100 of them were French citizens...
What I'm saying here is not just leftist paranoia, it's facts, frightening facts. I think that the police is important. Law and order are important. But freedom and rights of the people are important too. I'm sad to say that today more than ever, French people have to use their famous expression : 22, vla les flics ! ("Watch out, the cops are coming !")