One of them, a top military officer, said the idea was to ensure that whoever was in the role had sufficient experience that they would be respected if they tried to push back on controversial National Rally proposals — including leaving NATO’s integrated command.

I mean, I personally don't think that that would be a great idea for France, but France already spent decades as a NATO member but outside NATO's integrated command, and if it does so again, it's probably not going to end the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_and_NATO

In 1966, under De Gaulle’s leadership, France withdrew from NATO’s integrated military command. Nevertheless, cooperation agreements between French and NATO forces were quickly signed, reducing the practical impact of this withdrawal. This cooperation was reinforced under Presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, and in 2009, President Nicolas Sarkozy reinstated France into NATO’s unified command.

Fuck Politico, Axel Springer and Döpfner. Don't share, don't click.