France and Hungary (1989-2004) ; La France et la Hongrie (1989-2004)

Abstract

Throughout history, relations between France and Hungary have been complex and ambiguous, often characterized by a certain distance and sometimes marked by a genuine resentment. During the early modern period, the Turkish occupation and the long association of Hungary to the Habsburg Empire certainly contributed to building barriers between the two states and thus to slowing down the development of stronger ties. In a similar manner, during the 20th century, even though many factors – geographical, cultural, as well as societal – should have led France to develop a similar relationship of confidence and friendship with Hungary as those it had with other central European capitals, the two World Wars – and the revisionist and communist periods that followed in Hungary – as well as the deep "injury" inflicted on the Hungarians by the Treaty of Trianon have constantly pushed both states into opposing camps. In a country where the intelligentsia was historically quick to "look towards Paris", these factors and events contributed to creating the myth of an "impossible love" between the two countries. Considered for a very long time as a German zone of influence, Hungary never really represented a favored partner for France in the eastern part of the continent, and the relations between the countries remained largely irregular and asymmetrical. Under these conditions, the major upheavals of the years 1989-1990, while offering an opportunity to redesign a new Europe, also allowed a chance for a new start in French-Hungarian relations. This thesis provides the first analysis of the overall strengthening of French-Hungarian relations in this new historical context. Starting with the observation that French-Hungarian relations undergo a change of dimension from 1989 – a transformation that will be discussed and analyzed – our work tries to understand on the one hand whether this mutation represents a modification of the real nature of French foreign policy towards Hungary, given that the country was mostly treated until ...