Without France's support, Romania might not have existed

At a time when Europe is going through perhaps the most tense geopolitical phase in recent decades, we are witnessing a series of concerted, insidious and toxic attacks on the relationship between Romania and France, a deep historical alliance built on shared values, mutual respect and a firm commitment to democracy. These attacks are not accidental, they are not simple isolated opinions, but represent the result of a well-thought-out strategy, perfidiously implemented by proxies of the Russian Federation operating in Romania under the cover of false patriotism, mock sovereignism and a carefully calibrated anti-European rhetoric. Pay close attention to the messages sent over the past year by the leaders of AUR, POT, SOS, especially George Simion, Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă and Călin Georgescu, and you will notice the constant criticisms leveled at France, which in their opinion has lost its Christian religious vein, democratic values and has interfered in the parliamentary and presidential elections in our country.

The main target of these manipulation campaigns is French President Emmanuel Macron, who supports a strong, united Europe, capable of resisting the pressure of Russian authoritarianism and who has openly advocated unwavering support for Ukraine. Macron has become a problem for the Kremlin because he is vocal, firm, and involved. However, this type of leader is not allowed to be popular in a Romania that Moscow wants divided, fragile and isolated. That is why the attacks of Russian proxies focus on Macron, on the Franco-Romanian partnership, on any attempt at Western cohesion.

These vectors of influence that proliferate in the Romanian public space, whether we are talking about so-called political analysts, journalists, influencers disguised as opinion leaders or pseudo-politicians with obscure agendas, constantly promote the idea that France is betraying us, that Macron has hidden plans, that the West is using us. In reality, this narrative does nothing more than undermine the population's trust in Romania's strategic allies and weaken the common European front against Russian imperialism. It is a classic disinformation tactic, cynically exported from the Kremlin's laboratories, adapted to the local specifics through apparently indigenous figures, but deeply dependent on Eastern influence.

Basically, Kremlin proxies in our country are trying to erase historical memory, because the past itself bears witness to how important France was for Romania's national destiny. Thus, after the Crimean War, which took place in 1856, France led by Napoleon III played an essential role in redrawing the European balance. With the determined support of Paris, the idea of the Union of the Romanian Principalities was supported and validated at the European level. The Paris Peace Conference and the diplomatic consultations held under the aegis of France were decisive for the creation of a common political structure between Moldova and Wallachia. Without the endorsement of Napoleon III, Alexandru Ioan Cuza would never have been recognized as the sole ruler of both Romanian principalities. This was the beginning of a bilateral relationship based on trust and solidarity, continued throughout history with a consistency rare in international relations.

After the 1877 War of Independence, at the Berlin Peace Conference of 1878, in a tense moment when the great powers were more concerned with their own agendas than with the rights of young regional actors, France was among the few states that openly supported the cause of Romania, demanding respect for the sovereignty and dignity of this new state. Paris's voice was heard when it was most needed and it was not for the last time.

In the First World War, France not only supported Romania's entry into the alliance with the Entente, but also offered direct aid. General Henri Mathias Berthelot was sent to Romania to reorganize and train the Romanian army after its retreat to Moldavia. Under his command and military vision, the Romanian troops were re-equipped, trained and transformed into a force capable of resisting and counterattacking in the 1917 campaign. Berthelot was not only a French strategist, but a living symbol of the brotherhood between the two peoples, becoming a hero of the Romanians, respected and loved as a liberator.

And after the end of the First World War, at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, French President Georges Clemenceau, nicknamed "The Tiger", was one of the key figures who supported the legitimacy of Romanian territorial claims. After the audience granted to Queen Maria, Georges Clemenceau supported the international recognition of the Union of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina with Romania, which led to the signing of the Treaties of Versailles and Trianon, fundamental acts that consecrated Greater Romania. It was a historic moment of national affirmation, possibly also due to the determined and principled support of France.

We no longer develop the support provided by France for our country after the Second World War, about the support we received from Paris when Romania wanted to join the European Union and NATO, as well as about the help offered for entering the Schengen area.

All these facts are today ignored, attacked or rewritten by those who, under the guise of patriotism, serve the interests of a foreign power. They rely on emotion, on frustration, on a nationalist discourse emptied of content, but full of resentment and dangerous nostalgia. People's legitimate fears are exploited to plant suspicions, distrust, hatred in them. And in this picture, any lucid voice, any gesture of solidarity with France or with European leaders quickly becomes the target of discredit. It is a full-fledged psychological manipulation operation, with the aim of severing Romania from Western values, of transforming it into a docile pawn in a geopolitical game that exposes and degrades it.

This is not just an anti-Macron image campaign. It is a direct attack on Romania's strategic positioning within the EU and NATO. It is a desperate attempt to push us towards a gray area, where Russian influence becomes dominant and where European solidarity is replaced by obedience to the dictatorship. Those who spread these messages are not nationalists, but traitors in disguise, who use the flag to dirty it. The attack on the relationship with France is just one step in a broader strategy of destabilization, and silence in the face of this assault becomes complicity.