France under President Mitterrand and German Unification
France was one of the four occupation powers in Germany after World War II, still one of the four members in the Allied Control Council in Berlin until 1990, and one of the “two plus four” powers which negotiated the international conditions of German re-unification in the same year. Therefore it is of special interest what the positions of the French government were concerning the reunification of Germany at the end of the 1980s. A strategic motive underlying the division of Germany was the desire to weaken it such that it might never again make war against its neighbors. Together France, Britain, and the United States merged the zones they occupied, creating the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949. The remaining territory, falling to Soviet control, became the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Until these territories were reunified, the Cold War dominated their international relations, reflected in their ideological and military orientations, embodied in NATO and the Warsaw Treaty respectively. Unlike the other members of the 2+4 process, France and the FRG, represented by President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, concluded a special Friendship Contract, the Élysée Treaty, in 1963. It was a remarkable caesura in the relationship between these former enemies. Both countries became the “motor” of the European unification process. This contract was remarkable not only because of the history of both countries, but because of the personal attitude of Charles de Gaulle. His foreign policy had the aim of leading France back to the circle of the leading nations in the world – in independency. The most important goal for “Gaullism” was very straightforward; it was to ensure the strength, vitality, permanence, and grandeur of the French nation. Now, after the Élysée Treaty, he thought that this aim could be fulfilled in the framework of Europe together with the FRG. However, the question is how President Mitterrand thought about this relationship between both nations in the process of unifying Europe, when Germany became united and therefore – perhaps – stronger. Another question was in our thoughts: Which experience would be dominant – Mitterrand’s generational experience as a soldier against Nazi-Germany or the experience with post-war
NATO after the Cold War, 1991–1995: Institutional Competition and the Collapse of the French Alternative
With the end of the Cold War, opportunities long foreclosed to Europe came back into view on the horizon. The prospect of Western Europe providing for its own security became a realistic proposition for the first time in fifty years. The French government developed a strategy for replacing US power with a more cohesive European Union security and defence identity which garnered substantial support from other European NATO countries, especially Germany, resulting in an intensive four-year competition over which institution would form the basis of Europe's security and defence capabilities. By the end of 1995, NATO had decisively won this contest, due to rapid reconfiguration of NATO's military structures and the test for both organisations of responding to Yugoslavia's collapse. In the final analysis, it was the military capability of NATO that defeated the French alternative security structure. This article tells the story of that evolution.
Professional support in rural New South Wales: perceptions of new graduate occupational therapists.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the experiences of professional support among new graduates working in rural New South Wales, including the current availability of professional support and the impact of support levels on professional practice.


DESIGN
Qualitative, using semistructured face-to-face or telephone interviews.


SETTING
New graduate occupational therapists employed in public and private hospitals and community health services in rural New South Wales.


SUBJECTS
Nine new graduate occupational therapists within their first year of practice.


MAIN OUTCOME
A description of participant experiences of professional support and strategies to enhance the recruitment and retention of occupational therapists in rural areas.


RESULTS
Participants reported varied experiences of professional support and emphasised the importance of having access to a wide variety of resources. Participants highlighted that professional support could assist in developing independence and other skills. However, ultimately a lack of support resulted in decreased confidence and subsequent decreased job satisfaction among participants.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that greater effort should be directed to ensuring that all new graduates have access to professional support, including structured supervision, and that strategies be explored and adopted to ensure that this occurs.