# France returns to NATO integrated military command (2009)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/2009-france-returns-to-nato-integrated-military-command
Location: France

President Sarkozy reversed de Gaulle’s 1966 withdrawal from the alliance’s command structure. Within the broader Fifth Republic period, The 1958 Constitution created a stronger presidency and a durable Fifth Republic. Decolonization, European integration, social change, economic shocks and recurring debates over identity, secularism and the role of the state have shaped contemporary France. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Nicolas Sarkozy (President of the French Republic). France returns to NATO integrated military command mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
France returns to NATO integrated military command mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems.

Ruler at the time: [Nicolas Sarkozy](https://history-france.com/rulers/nicolas-sarkozy)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — France returns to NATO integrated military command](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=France+returns+to+NATO+integrated+military+command&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — France returns to NATO integrated military command](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=France+returns+to+NATO+integrated+military+command)
- [Élysée — Institutions of the Fifth Republic](https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-institutions)