Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1781 Angry France (Second update, please subscribe)
It is not sunny at noon in Paris. Since early morning, the sky has been covered with a thin layer of gray clouds, and the surface of the Seine River reflects the dim skylight.

Elysee Palace.

Georges Pompidou sat behind his large desk with a serious expression, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk and staring out the window, as if he was thinking about something.

Three months ago, after Charles de Gaulle resigned, Georges Pompidou became the President of France. He did not expect that he would encounter such a difficult problem as soon as he took office.

And now, he was almost instinctively thinking about a question - if it were Charles de Gaulle, how would he handle this matter.

How will he handle this?
Foreign Minister Pierre Mendes-France stood at the table, holding a thick report in his hand, with a hint of uneasiness in his tone:
“Mr. President, after the communication was restored, the embassy has confirmed that the SEA’s troops have fully controlled the major cities in Libya. They first used transport planes to transport a large number of troops to Tripoli and Benghazi. Their actions were very fast. Our intelligence shows that their special forces and air force completed the destruction of Libyan military facilities within a few hours.

The Libyan army was defeated with little resistance. Now, Libya is theirs.”

Libya is theirs!

This seemingly simple sentence made Pompidou's heart surge with anger, and he said angrily:

“How dare they invade Libya?

That's North Africa, the Mediterranean!

That is Europe's traditional sphere of influence. Even the Americans cannot be so bold! How can they be so disregarding of our interests! Don't they care about France at all?"

His tone was full of dissatisfaction and anger, as if SEA's actions were not only an invasion of Libya, but also a provocation to France and even the whole of Europe. In North Africa, France once had a huge colonial empire. Although Algeria's independence caused France to lose its most important North African territory, in Pompidou's mind, North Africa is still France's "backyard" and Europe's sphere of influence, which cannot be interfered with by others.

Even if it is the United States, we cannot do whatever we want!
But now, SEA's behavior is simply a slap in the face of France. For Pompidou, who has only been president for three months, this is naturally unacceptable.

You know, when the military coup happened in Libya, they were all ready to watch the joke, after all, Libya's oil has always been basically monopolized by SEA.

For southern European countries such as France and Italy, they are happy to remain neutral on this matter and watch SEA make a fool of itself. Even in the eyes of politicians in these countries, all SEA can do is to accept the reality. After all, Libya is located in North Africa and in the Mediterranean.

Without their consent and support, SEA would certainly not be able to do anything.

Who would have thought that they not only did it, but also didn't even say hello in advance.

This is simply a slap in the face!
Although they were angry, they were very aware of their own strength.

Of course, it is clear, and it is angry. We have to be angry now. If we don’t even have the qualifications to be angry, is France still France?

France was very angry, and as for the consequences... well, I'm afraid only God knows.

"Are they so disregarding the interests of France? This is really arrogant."

Minister France nodded, with a hint of helplessness in his tone:
"Yes, Mr. President. Their actions clearly did not take into account our interests in North Africa. They did not even inform us in advance and completely ignored our existence, or in other words, completely ignored the existence of France."

This is not adding fuel to the fire, but stating a fact. The fact is that after World War II, France only raised the white flag, and no one would care about him at all, even if he was one of the big gangsters.

Pompidou stood up suddenly, walked to the window, and stared at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. His voice was deep and powerful:
"Do they think that a surprise attack and victory means the end of the matter? Do they think France will remain silent?"

He turned around, fixed his eyes on France, and said:

"Immediately meet with the SEA representative in Paris and protest to him. Demand that they withdraw their troops from Libya immediately, otherwise France will reserve the right to take further action."

France nodded and quickly wrote down Pompidou's instructions. Then Pompidou added:
“Also, contact Italy. Although they are the former colonial power of Libya, they still have extensive interests in the region. They will definitely not be happy to see their rights and interests being undermined. We need to unite and put pressure on SEA.”

This is exactly what France is best at - getting Europe to act together, or at least getting a few European countries involved. After the war, facing the decline of its influence and national strength, France chose to stick together and, relying on the banner of Europe, gradually restored France's influence.

Now, it is time to raise the banner of Europe again.

A few hours later, the atmosphere in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building was tense and solemn. Ho Hung-fook, SEA's representative in Paris, was urgently summoned and walked into the meeting room with a calm expression on his face. France sat at the other end of the long table, looking serious and solemn.

"Mr. Representative,"

As France's foreign minister, France chose to get straight to the point, with an unquestionable tone:

"France strongly protests against your military action in Libya. Your actions not only violate international law, but also seriously damage France's special interests in North Africa. We demand that you withdraw your troops from Libya immediately, otherwise France will reserve the right to take further action."

On the way here, Ho Hung-fu, who had almost understood what he was facing, smiled slightly, his tone calm but his attitude firm:

"Mr. Minister, I think you may have some misunderstandings. Our military action in Libya was at the invitation of its king to help the Kingdom of Libya restore order. As far as I know, the Kingdom of Libya is the legitimate regime in Libya.

Of course, you can deny this, but the Kingdom of Libya is its legitimate regime and is internationally recognized!"

Faced with such an answer, France could only remain silent for a while. Indeed, what he said was true.

Ho Hung-fu continued as if he was not letting anyone off the hook:
"So, this is not a military invasion, but a legitimate military assistance, which is a safeguard of international law. After all, the general consensus of the international community is against military coups. And as far as I know, Libya is an independent country. They have the right to invite any country to provide assistance without the consent of other countries, right?"

The Foreign Minister's face turned gloomy, with a hint of anger in his voice: "Mr. Representative, you know very well that Libya is part of North Africa, and North Africa is France's traditional sphere of influence. Your actions have seriously damaged our interests, which is unacceptable."

Okay, this is the real truth.

No matter what, everyone is doing it for their own benefit.

He Hongfu shrugged his shoulders and said with contempt:
"Special interests? Mr. Minister, I remember that Algeria has become independent. France's special interests in North Africa seem to have become history."

This sentence was like a sharp knife, piercing the pain of France or rather, France.

Algeria's independence is a scar in French history. France fought there for many years, but finally withdrew in disgrace.

And what He Hongfu said was undoubtedly exposing this scar. France's face turned livid instantly, but he quickly adjusted his mood and said coldly:
"No matter what the history is, France's interests in North Africa still exist, which is well known. Moreover, North Africa is related to the interests of many European countries. We need to safeguard the interests of European countries. We hope that your country can respect this.

Just as we understand your interests in Southeast Asia and other places, I think we should respect each other."

Nodding, He Hongfu said perfunctorily:
"We understand France's concerns, and we also understand the interests of European countries in North Africa. But please rest assured that our actions are only to help Libya restore order. Once the situation stabilizes, we will naturally withdraw our troops, and will never harm the interests of countries in North Africa."

Is this a withdrawal?
This is just perfunctory, okay?

There was a flash of anger in France's eyes, but he knew that it was meaningless to continue arguing. He stood up and said coldly:
"I hope your country will carefully consider our position. Otherwise, France and European countries will have to take necessary measures."

Facing the threat, He Hongfu also stood up, smiled slightly, and said:

"I will convey your message to Chang'an and will consider it carefully. But I hope that Mr. Minister can understand that the future of Libya should be decided by the Libyan people, not by other countries."

Bullshit, aren't you deciding their fate for Libya?

The talks ended on an unpleasant note.

After calling the president and informing him of the results of the meeting, France stood at the window of the conference room, staring at the streets of Paris in the distance. His heart was filled with anger and helplessness, but he knew that this international dispute had only just begun.

But what action can France take?

Thinking of this, his expression became even more solemn, because he knew very well that France could do nothing!
“They can’t do anything!”

In the official residence in Changan, Li Yian had a scornful smile on his face.

The reason why European countries were not notified before the military operation, or why there was no communication with Southern European countries such as France and Italy that had no direct interests in North Africa.

Li Yian had his own intentions.

In fact, it is just to reassure the United States.

"France, whether they want to face the reality or not, the reality is that they have absolutely no ability to stop this or interfere with our military operations."

Because the military operation went more smoothly than expected, Li Yian's tone was very light when he spoke.

"So they just talked big."

Myers said:
"That being said, Your Excellency, we must also realize that France still has a great influence in Europe. If they put pressure on us at the United Nations, it will inevitably cause some diplomatic troubles."

Listening to his reminder, Li Yian nodded and said:
“It happens all the time, but it’s nothing serious.

As long as we do things, we will inevitably be accused and criticized by foreign countries.

But what does it matter? It won’t have any impact anyway.”

After a slight pause, Li Yian continued.

"Yes, but it will not have any impact, and it will be of some benefit to us. At least it can let the United States see that there is a conflict between us and European countries. Only in this way will they feel more at ease with us."

Sometimes diplomatic matters are so troublesome that you always have to be careful and plan everything in every possible way.

Just like the oil fields in Libya, there is a very important reason why they want to monopolize the market, which is to create conflicts with European countries.
The purpose of creating this contradiction is to confuse the United States, let the United States relax its vigilance, and allow them to focus on confronting the Russians.

Only when their full attention is on Russia can SEA focus on development without having to think about anything else.

But besides the United States, there is another country - Russia. How will they react?

However, Russia now should not pay attention to this matter. After all, they have more urgent things to deal with.

(End of this chapter)