World War II was the most tragic war in human history, affecting a total of 61 countries and regions, 2 billion people, a total of 90 million military and civilian casualties, and 5 trillion US dollars in losses.
In order to re-plan and establish the post-war order, the most important victors in World War II, the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, became permanent members of the United Nations, and the five countries retained their strongest military strength since World War II and had a veto power in the United Nations.
However, there is a member of the council that has always been internationally despised, and it has not been able to raise its head, and this country is France. Because many people believe that the status of France as a permanent member is imposed.
What they mean is very easy to understand, France has been the most powerful country in Europe in the Middle Ages, and in the Napoleonic period the army swept through Europe, not to mention that France was victorious as a victorious power in the First World War, it retained what it claimed to be the most powerful army in Europe, and when Nazi Germany began to rise and invade and annex the surrounding areas, people hoped that France would be able to become a regional mediator policeman and assume the responsibilities that a great power should have.
Disappointingly, Britain and France adopted an ostrich-like policy of appeasement in order to preserve their interests, and it was not until 1939, when Germany blitzkrieg Poland, that Britain and France formally declared war on Germany. Although Germany was strong at the time, almost the whole world believed that France, with its powerful army and large fleet, would be able to bring Germany to its knees again.
However, the French did not seem to like to take the initiative at all, but adopted a passive defensive posture, and after the First World War, the French began to build the Maginot Line deployed by bunker barbed wire heavy artillery in the province of Thionville, with the intention of organizing the German invasion of its northeast.
At the same time, the French still adhere to the old set of theories, firmly believe that "cannon is the truth", the entire French Army is equipped with a large number of large-caliber artillery, but they are not interested in their technical firepower is at the top of the world's mammoth tanks, the result of the fierce and light German armored forces but a good lesson to the French, they bypassed the Maginot Line, directly close to the French hinterland, the French bulky artillery can not be transported quickly, became a pile of scrap iron, on June 14, 1940, the German army occupied Paris, And that took less than three months. France announced its surrender.
In later days, although the remaining French troops under the leadership of General de Gaulle formed the Free French Forces and participated in the North African Campaign and the Normandy Landings, the sense of presence was still too low, they did not play a decisive role in the battle, but they became one of the united Nations security powers as the main victors of the Allies.
Compared with the other four countries that fought bloodily, France has become the only permanent member with a disgraceful history, he did not contribute much in World War II, and the surrounding countries have always had a slight contempt for France.
The French have always wanted to restore the glory of Europe's first power, but the opposite happened, since the United Kingdom left the European Union, France originally thought that it could become a big brother like the big brother, but for now, Germany under Merkel's leadership, whether it is international influence or economics, has more right to speak.