To what extend did the fall of the Berlin wall simplify the relationship between France and Germany, or destabilise it?
The module that assigned this essay concentrates on the history of France and Europe, and more specifically Franco-German relations within the context of the European project, so this should be the focus. The essay must argue (stated clearly in the introduction) that the fall of the Berlin wall and the key events surrounding it (collapse of USSR and communism, reunification of Germany, end to cold war) did in fact simplify relations between France and Germany.
These factors should be explored in the main body of the essay. In order to determine to what extent, the essay must then go on to outline other key factors that also pointed to a simplification of Franco-german relations e.g. the Kohl-Mitterrand dynamic, and key steps in European integration process leading up to 1989 that were already pointing to an advancement in the European project which had France and German relationship at the core of its progression.
The conclusion should then weigh up these two perspectives and state something along the lines of ‘despite fact that events leading up to 1989 were already pointing to an advancement in the European project that consolidated the basis of Franco-German relations, the fall of the Berlin wall and its aftermath marked a pivotal moment in the re-examination of relations between France and Germany that facilitated the idea of a political union in Europe which had the Franco-German alliance at its core’. This should be the main structure of the essay
