Franco-Austrian relations

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Franco-Austrian relations
Location of Austria and France
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Austria France

The Franco-Austrian relations go far back into the 14th century, and their history is marked both by conflict as well as cooperation. In the course of their history, the two countries have taken on the role of opponents, allies, but also mutual supporters. The marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. was a testimony of the alliance, which was later put to the test in several military conflicts and subsequent peace negotiations.

As a partner in the European Union there is now a good basis for cooperation and there is a lively cultural and economic exchange between these two countries, with the aim of making joint progress.

history

Relations between France and the Habsburg Monarchy before 1804

The conflict for supremacy in Europe between Habsburg and France

From the second half of the 14th century, the Burgundian state had begun to form on the soil of the old Lotharingia on both sides of the French- German language border . This was made up of different countries, neither nationally nor economically or culturally uniform, and rose to become a major European power in the 15th century . The new state was called "the Great Duchy of the West " because it surpassed most of Europe's monarchies in power and wealth . What this state building was missing, however, was a royal crown. However , this was to change under the last Duke, Charles the Bold . Because he intended to enter into a Burgundian- Habsburg alliance with which he hoped that the state network would be elevated to royalty.

When Charles the Bold fell at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477 without leaving a male heir, the autonomy of the Burgundian duchy ended. Charles the Bold had earlier given the promise that his daughter Mary of Burgundy with Maximilian I , son of Emperor Frederick III. , should be married, which happened that same year. With this wedding, however, a conflict broke out that lasted for centuries between France and the Habsburgs.

Maximilian I made claims to the Burgundian inheritance in the name of Charles' heir daughter Maria of Burgundy, just like the French King Louis XI. from the House of Valois, from which the Dukes of Burgundy descended. War of Burgundian Succession lasted from 1477–1482 and 1487–1493 . In 1493 the Peace of Senlis was finally concluded with King Charles VIII of France . Except for the French fief, Maximilian kept most of the Burgundian territories in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire .

From the marriage of Maximilian I and Maria of Burgundy, the son Philip I “the Handsome” was born in 1478 , whose birth was of great importance for the consolidation of Habsburg rule in Burgundy. Philip I was married in 1496 in the course of Maximilian I's marriage plans to Johanna , the daughter of the " Catholic kings " Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon , who were at the cradle of the emerging Spanish empire. In addition to the territories on the Iberian Peninsula , the Spanish Empire also extended to southern Italian territories ( Sardinia , Naples and Sicily ) as well as to the recently discovered overseas colonies . The political background for these dynastic overtures was an alliance against France. This intensified the Habsburg-French rivalry again.

Due to sudden deaths, Johanna was the sole heiress of the united crowns of Spain, so Philip I found himself in a similar situation in Spain to his father in Burgundy: he was the prince consort of the heir's daughter. Their son, who later became Emperor Charles V , came to power in Flanders in Burgundy in 1515 and in the Kingdom of Spain the following year. He combined several crowns and even more claims that served as the foundation for the attempt to establish a dynastic universal monarchy with Habsburg hegemony over Europe. France saw itself encircled: in the south was the Iberian core area of ​​the rising great power Spain. In the north and east along the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire, there was the colorful agglomeration of territories that had come under the rule of Habsburg as Burgundian inheritance. The endeavor of the French crown to break away from the threatening clutches of the Habsburg possessions in order to eliminate the House of Habsburg as a competitor for supremacy in Europe, culminated in another 240 year long armed conflict between the Habsburgs and France: the Habsburg- French contrast . This stretched from the Italian Wars (1494–1559) through the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) and ended in the agreements of Utrecht 1713 , Rastatt and Baden 1714 . The peace treaties of Utrecht, Rastatt and Baden brought about the breakthrough for a European system based on the idea of ​​equilibrium and the balancing of political interests.

Reversal of alliances or renversement des alliances

The Habsburg Monarchy felt more and more distressed by the rising Prussia , which had become a great power through the expansion of the army under Friedrich Wilhelm I in the 1740s and the takeover of Silesia in the First Silesian War (1740–1742). So they were looking for an ally in their historical rival France. In the middle of the 18th century France competed more and more with England both on the European continent and in the colonies . With the Westminster Convention between England and Prussia in 1756 , France also sought proximity to the Habsburg Monarchy. This historical event is known as the renversement des alliances and describes a fundamental change in the European order of power. In February of the same year, the Seven Years' War began with the attack by France on the British Isles and the island of Menorca, and subsequently a war for Europe. On May 1, 1756, the first Treaty of Versailles was signed, which was called the Defensive Alliance. However, it was informally an attack alliance against Prussia. Russia also joined the alliance between in the summer of 1759. The treaty included mutual troop aid, but this did not apply to Franco-English wars. A year after the first Versailles treaty, a second Habsburg-Bourbon treaty was signed on May 1, 1757 . This second Versailles Treaty was intended to guarantee France several cities in the Austrian Netherlands. In return, France undertook to provide Austria with 130,000 men, to pay 12 million guilders to the Habsburgs and to fight with Austria until Silesia and Glatz were part of the Habsburg monarchy again. The Seven Years War ended in 1763 and confirmed the status quo . Silesia and Glatz remained in Prussian ownership and the Austrian hereditary lands continued to belong to Austria.

Wedding between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI.

In 1754 diplomatic relations between France and Austria were established with the marriage of Maria Antonia, the daughter of Maria Theresa , and the future King of France Louis XVI., A grandson of Louis XV. , strengthened, with which the Habsburg-French conflict, which lasted almost 300 years, was symbolically ended.

Execution of Marie Antoinette in Paris

French Revolution

Emperor Leopold II was initially positive about the French Revolution , but in 1791 his sister Marie Antoinette asked him to intervene militarily and to end the revolution. But the emperor refused. On June 20 and 21, 1791, the royal family tried to flee France, but were intercepted in Varennes and brought back to Paris . On September 3rd of that year the constitutional monarchy was proclaimed . Emperor Leopold II. And the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Proclaimed the crushing of the French Revolution. Thereupon France declared war, which met with great approval among the population. With the cannonade of Valmy on September 20, 1792, the revolutionary army was initially able to ward off an external military threat. The execution of Louis XVI. and his wife in 1793 other monarchies such as England joined the war against France. The execution of the Habsburg Marie Antoinette made her brother Joseph II speak out against the new France.

First and Second Coalition War

With the Pillnitz Declaration in 1791, Austria and Prussia had come together to jointly form King Ludwig XVI. support during the French Revolution. This alliance was expanded in the 18th century by other European powers and together they tried to contain the effects of the French Revolution.

With France's declaration of war on April 20, 1792, the First Coalition War finally began , which was ended on October 17, 1797 with the Peace of Campo Formio between France and Austria. With the Rastatt Congress from 1797 to 1799 the implementation of the peace resolutions should be discussed, but this did not come about because the Napoleonic Wars began and thus the armed conflict between France and Austria was continued. On June 14, 1800, the Battle of the Marengo took place, which brought Northern Italy back under French control and was a decisive victory over Austria. In the same year, the Battle of Hohenlinden took place, in which the French defeated the Austrian army again and were able to invade their country. Austria felt compelled to sign a peace treaty, so the Treaty of Lunéville came about , which secured the areas on the left bank of the Rhine for France and the recognition of the subsidiary republics created by French exports of the revolution , as well as the Kingdom of Etruria .

Relations between 1804 and 1918

Napoleonic Wars

Battle of Austerlitz

In December 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was finally crowned Emperor of the French, which resulted in the Austrian Empire being proclaimed and Emperor Franz II proclaiming himself Emperor Franz I of Austria.

1805 entered Austria during the Third Coalition War, the alliance of Russia, Great Britain and Sweden in order Holland and Switzerland rid of Napoleon. In August of that year France asked Austria to remove its military troops from Tyrol and Veneto . Emperor Franz I refused, however, and so it came about that Napoleon entered into an alliance with Spain and southern German rulers and finally crossed the Rhine on September 25th . When Austrian troops then advanced into Bavaria , France declared war on Austria on September 22nd. After the victory at the Battle of Elchingen , the French advanced to Vienna and the battle on Pratzeberg between Brno and Austerlitz took place , which was to become the most famous battle of the Napoleonic Wars. The Austrian and Russian troops could not withstand Napoleon and his army and had to accept defeat. The consequences were that Napoleon moved his seat to Austerlitz Castle , concluded an armistice with Emperor Franz I and the withdrawal of Russian troops. This third coalition war was finally ended in 1805 with the Peace of Pressburg , which meant great territorial losses for Austria. Furthermore, this peace agreement led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, because Napoleon urged Emperor Franz II to lay down the imperial crown. A year later, the Rhine Confederation was founded , which was created on Napoleon's initiative and was obliged to serve as an army command , and thus the final dissolution of the HRR .

Archduke Karl at the Battle of Aspern in 1809

After the successes at the Battle of Abensberg , the Battle of Eggmühl and the battles of Regensburg , Napoleon and his army managed to advance to Vienna on May 13, 1809. To the east of Vienna, the Battle of Aspern finally took place , with which the Austrians celebrated not only a victory, but Napoleon's first defeat on a battlefield. However, the French emperor was able to win the subsequent battles against Austria and secure an armistice in Znaim . On October 14, 1809, the Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed between Napoleon and Emperor Franz I, which meant further territorial losses for Austria and also provided for a war contribution to France. Together with the upcoming government spending for participation in the Napoleonic Wars in 1811, this led to the bankruptcy of Austria. In 1810, at Metternich's insistence, the daughter of Emperor Franz I, Archduchess Marie Louise , was married to Napoleon in order to consolidate the political situation . This alliance forced Austria to take part in the Russian campaign in 1812 .

In 1813 Austria, together with Prussia, entered the war against France again in order to finally end the French domination under Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe. In October the alliance of Russia, Austria and Prussia managed to defeat the French emperor at the Battle of Leipzig . At the Congress of Châtillon an attempt was made to make a peace, but the Allies broke off the negotiations because the French side had an unacceptable draft of the resolutions, which did not meet the expectations of the Allies. The war continued and Napoleon suffered his final defeat at the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube .

Congress of Vienna

On March 31, 1814, the allied troops took Paris and Napoleon had to abdicate . He is established by the Treaty of Fontainebleau , which was signed by Austria, Russia, Prussia and himself, which banished him to the island of Elba and granted Empress Marie-Louise the Italian duchies of Parma , Piacenza and Guastalla with full autonomy . From September of this year to June 9, 1815, the Congress of Vienna takes place under the leadership of the Austrian Foreign Minister Prince von Metternich, whose goal was the reorganization of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon and with which Austria was able to secure many territories lost to France.

Revolution 1848

In February 1848, the bourgeois-democratic revolution ended in France and the Second French Republic was proclaimed. The spirit of the revolution was also noticeable in Austria, so that another coup took place in the same year, but it was unsuccessful because neo-absolutism continued thereafter .

In the area of ​​foreign policy, the Danube Monarchy faced some dangers. Relations with Prussia were strained, there were economic differences with England and Russia viewed Austria as an enemy, as it did not support Russia in the Crimean War . Under Napoleon France was ready to risk a war with Austria in order to secure parts of northern Italy for itself through the independence movement of Lombardy-Veneto .

Franco-German War 1870–1871

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870, in which the southern German states also sided with Prussia, resulted in a swift and clear victory and the proclamation of Wilhelm I in 1871 , leading to the establishment of the German Empire . After the defeat for France, Emperor Napoleon III became. deposed and made way for the Third Republic .

Alliance Policy in Europe

After the 1870s, the alliance policy led to a constellation in which two hostile blocs faced each other. There were many problems between all European states, which made the readiness for war very high. In 1878 the Habsburg Monarchy and the German Empire concluded the dual alliance . This expanded to include Italy in 1882 and Romania in 1883 . The interaction of these, however, was full of conflict due to numerous tensions between the two new allies and the Danube monarchy. The opposing alliance was formed from 1894 through the alliance between France and Russia, followed by the alliance between France and England in 1904. Finally, in 1907, Russia and England also concluded an alliance. These three allies are to become partners as “ entente cordiale ” during the First World War .

First World War

Wiener Zeitung - Austria's declaration of war on Serbia

After the assassination attempt in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 and the resulting July crisis , the First World War began on July 28, 1914 with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Germany supported the Austrian ally in its stern stance against Serbia . Serbia was in turn supported by Russia. The catastrophe started when Austria declared war on Serbia, Germany, Russia and France. When the German troops marched into France via neutral Belgium , England took part in the war. Austro-Hungarian troops were deployed on the Western Front as military support for the German Reich in France and Belgium. The allies of the Central Powers Italy and Romania initially remained neutral, but then entered the war on the Entente side. In return, Turkey and Bulgaria took part in the war on the side of the Central Powers . On November 3, 1918, an armistice was reached, which meant a victory for the war coalition that emerged from the Triple Entente and a collapse of the Central Powers . The main participants in the war were Germany , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire , Bulgaria on the one hand, and France, Great Britain , Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Italy , Romania, Japan and the USA on the other.

Relations between 1918 and 1945

After the end of Austria-Hungary

State Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria of July 21, 1920: Proclamation of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Relations between Austria and France in the interwar period were primarily influenced by the consequences of the First World War. With the Peace Treaty of St. Germain , which came into force in 1920 , the end of Austria-Hungary was also sealed under international law. Harsh conditions were imposed on the new state of Austria in the Paris suburb of St. Germain. In the peace negotiations of 1919 France was one of the main demands for an independent Austria, which should be banned from annexation to Germany . This was primarily intended to prevent Germany from regaining its strength after 1918. After the negative experiences of the First World War, a new large German power bloc should under no circumstances arise. Therefore, all diplomatic efforts by France in the interwar period were aimed at ensuring that Austria remained an independent and autonomous state. The assurance that Austria's independence would be preserved was repeated throughout the interwar period, but France was neither ready nor able to defend it by force of arms. In this case France would have had to rely on its ally Great Britain. These in turn saw no reason to intervene in the context of the appeasement policy in the event that Austria was threatened. At the same time, France was also against the restoration of the Habsburgs in Austria, so that the principle “Neither Anschluss nor Habsburg!” Prevailed.

In addition to political interests, France had considerable economic interests in Austria. In both banks and industry, France had large holdings. By strengthening a Danube federation , France hoped for a well-networked economic center with French participation with a center in Vienna. In order to achieve this goal, the French Reparations Commission was converted into an aid and reconstruction commission. The French aid policy was at the same time always power politics. During the crisis of the Austrian Creditanstalt in 1931, France was only ready to help if Austria abandoned its plans for a customs union with Germany. With the League of Nations loans of 1923 and 1932, France insisted that Austria should re-commit to not joining Germany for at least 20 years.

France and the Austrian corporate state

After the elimination of the Austrian parliament in 1933, France tried in vain to force the return of democracy in Austria by failing to service aid payments. Although the socialists were persecuted in Austria from 1934 and a socialist government was in power in France at the same time, diplomatic relations with France were better at this time than before. The reason for this was that the Austrian government now for the first time had its own goal of an independent Austria and was thus in line with France's wishes. That changed suddenly with the July 1936 Agreement between the German Reich and Austria. Although the German Reich recognized Austria's independence in it, the French ambassador Francois-Poncet saw in the agreement a declaration of bankruptcy by the Austrian government and the way to the Anschluss. The diplomatic alienation between Austria and France reached its peak for the time being when the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg rejected the invitation of the French Foreign Minister to the League of Nations conference in 1936. After this reaction, Germany was now certain that in the event of an annexation by Austria, at most a diplomatic protest would come from France . On March 9, 1938, the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg announced a referendum on the independence of Austria for March 13. This announcement and the increasingly threatening annexation of Austria to the German Reich hit France at the beginning of a government crisis. On March 9, the French government decided to resign. The French ambassador Francois-Poncet already warned on the morning of March 11th that an invasion of German troops into Austria was likely to be imminent. The French Foreign Minister Yvon Delbos then called the German ambassador in Paris to inform him of France's concern about the events. At the same time, Delbos also agreed with the British ambassador to come to a joint declaration by France and Great Britain towards the German Reich. However, Great Britain made it clear that in the event of an annexation of Austria to the German Reich it would only be prepared to take a protest note and no other action, which would force France to limit itself to a protest note as well.

After the "connection"

After the annexation to the German Reich on March 13, 1938 and Austria no longer existed as an independent state, the governments of France and England each submitted notes of protest. However, as the political room for maneuver remained limited, the French government had to accept the Anschluss on April 2, 1938. Until the outbreak of war, diplomatic relations were handled via the central offices in Berlin, but France continued to try to stay in contact with the Austrian authorities, although from now on there were no longer any official contact persons in Austria. Otto Habsburg campaigned for the restoration of the monarchy in Paris , which the French also considered. However, it was not sure how the former crown lands would react to this idea, which is why the French government became convinced that it would stand up for a republic of Austria. The rationale behind this was that it would make it easier for French influence to prevail in Central and Central Europe. When France was attacked by the Third Reich on May 10, 1940, the French government's interest in campaigning for Austria disappeared, since from now on the defense of France and the fight against Nazi Germany were more important. Nevertheless, the French allowed the Austrians in exile to be politically active. For this purpose, cultural associations ("l 'Autriche vivante" and "Cercle Culturel Autrichien") and newspapers ("Nouvelles d' Autriche" and "Courrier Autrichien") were founded by the exiles. Writers like Joseph Roth , Franz Werfel , Friedrich Torberg , used these opportunities to pursue anti-Nazi education and to represent Austria's interests. With these measures, on the one hand, they achieved a differentiated view of Germans and Austrians and, on the other hand, an awareness was created that not all Austrians were behind Hitler's Germany .

When France was divided with the Compiègne Armistice Agreement , the French government was very careful not to have any major problems with the Third Reich because of the large number of German-speaking migrants . They demanded the repatriation of all German and Austrian citizens, which is why many fled to the free south of France. For them, France was transformed from the “land of hope” to the “land of hopelessness”. From the unoccupied southern France the resistance was organized further and the exiles (mainly Austrians and Czechoslovaks ) were brought together in a separate section of the Resistance . In 1942 these units became a legitimate part of the French National Front.

The political questions of how to deal with Europe after the war were first clarified by the big three during the Moscow Conference in 1943. This also included the occupation of Austria . It was agreed that there should be an independent state of Austria, but it was required that the Austrians should make their own contribution to their liberation. France took note of the Moscow declaration and recommended itself for the "Austrian patriots".

After the Third Reich was defeated in May 1945, Germany and Austria were occupied by the Allies. At first the USA and France did not want to take over an occupation zone in Austria. But after the US agreed, the French also took part. They got North Tyrol and Vorarlberg , plus a quarter of Vienna. France wanted to prevent a new annexation to Germany at all costs, which is why they, like the big three, advocated an independent Austria. France pursued this goal on three levels. At first they appeared not as an occupying power, but as liberators and demanded reparations payments only to be able to finance their own troops in the country. The second aspect was cultural cooperation. France not only limited itself to the establishment and operation of cultural institutions, but also promoted local initiatives that otherwise would not have come about so quickly. The last point concerned influencing the future state treaty that was to come about in 1955. The newly formed government under Karl Renner immediately after the war organized the first free elections for November 25, 1945. The victorious powers accepted the result and on December 18, 1945 the Allied Council decided, after having approved the composition of the new Figl government , to recommend this to the four allied governments. Finally, on December 22nd, Figl received written notification that the newly formed government would be recognized. Two days earlier, the new head of state Karl Renner was elected by both chambers in parliament . Thus, Austria had a functioning government before the turn of the year 1945/46.

Relationships since 1945

The role of France in post - war Austria, which was divided into four parts, was due, among other things, to developments within France and must be seen against the background of the global political situation. Although Austria supposedly had no foreign policy advantages to offer France for the time being and no political intentions of its own were planned, the French attitude developed for an independent Austrian foreign policy. France was one of the main occupation countries that willingly and voluntarily stood for satisfactory problem solving in post-war Europe. The "French element" and its representatives had the seat of the High Commissioner in today's Breitensee barracks.

A state treaty was planned for the restoration of an independent and democratic Austria . This was already being prepared at the end of 1946 in view of the 1947 London Conference . Initially, however, Austria only received a right to be heard . In the course of the preliminary negotiations, several problems and differences of opinion arose, both between the victorious powers and with Austria. The ongoing negotiations on the financial compensation between the Soviet Union and Austria and their claim to the oil sector could be resolved through the French initiative through the Cherrière Plan .

France advocated guarantee clauses in the Austrian State Treaty and made two main demands on Austria. Both the political trusteeship by the occupying powers and the additional military control by a military expert commission must be guaranteed. However, these demands aroused strong disagreements among the Western powers.

"In general, there is a remarkable tendency, especially in France ... the Austria Treaty, to a certain extent, to 'set teeth' in the form of guarantee and sanction provisions ..." (G. Stourzh)

Austria was of military and geographical importance above all for the Western powers and so the reconstruction and re-establishment of the Austrian army were already employed during the state treaty negotiations. The concern that a strategic vacuum would arise if the Allies withdrew their troops, since Austria was not prepared for an efficient re-formation, remained a constant problem in French policy towards Austria until 1955. At the same time as the preparations for a Western military alliance in Europe, France's plans were made for the re-establishment of the Austrian army, these were initially vehemently rejected by the other Western powers due to the broken relationship of trust.

During the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, the Cold War intensified and the French policy of cooperation and integration with Germany intensified. Meanwhile, French policy towards Austria remained on the old and tried-and-tested paths. This applied to the affiliation syndrome as well as to the double ambivalence of positive and negative goals, anti-German and anti-Soviet thrusts. In some respects, this dichotomy was even reinforced by the fact that Soviet and German threats were coupled in the French threat image. The reasoning was quite simple: If Austria broke with the Soviet Union and thus with conditions similar to those in Germany, the western zones of Austria would not remain independent for long, but would join western Germany and this was what the French feared.

France then gave in to the American partition policy in Germany after long resistance, but was able to hold on to its principles in Austria and uphold them. It can therefore be said that France contributed more than the other Western powers to maintaining the unity of the country.

Overall, France was quite satisfied with the solution of 1955, "[...] the most important goals in Austria had been achieved: Austria has regained its sovereignty and independence; it makes its decision to be neutral as a sovereign state. Neither militarily nor economically burdens it Land from now on still excessive restrictions. "

Furthermore, one can assume that there have been good relations between Austria and France since then, which both sides benefit from in economic, cultural and social terms.

Generally speaking, the conclusion of the State Treaty made a contribution to international relaxation.

Economic relationships

Foreign trade between Austria and France before Austria joined the EU in 1995

Austria traditionally had a bilateral trade deficit with France , with one exception in 1952. The 1950s were characterized by lower dynamics with France compared to total trade, while the 1960s saw an above-average increase in France's total exports on the export side brought with them. Towards the end of the 1960s, the share fell back again, only to pick up again in the course of the bilateral foreign trade boom in the later 1970s, which upgraded France as an Austrian trading partner and, as a result of greater efforts, drove more Austrian exporters to trade with France.

Economic relations between Austria and France until today

In line with the general trend, the links between the two countries in this regard have intensified, especially in the last few decades and also since Austria joined the European Union in 1995. The extent of foreign trade between Austria and France more than doubled between 1995 and 2015. For 2015, France is the fifth most important destination for Austrian goods exports after Germany, the USA, Italy and Switzerland and the seventh most important partner for goods imports to Austria.

The most important trading partners of Austria 2015 (own processing based on data from Statistics Austria)

While up to the year 2000 the value of imports of French goods to Austria typically exceeded the value of exports to France, which corresponds to a trade balance deficit from an Austrian point of view, the value of goods exports to France has recently been far higher than that of the corresponding imports. This results from the fact that goods imports from France to Austria have fluctuated at a similar level since 2000, while Austrian goods deliveries to France have increased massively in the same period and are likely to exceed 6 billion euros for the first time in 2016.

Development of foreign trade between Austria and France from 1980 to 2015 (own presentation based on data from WKO, Statistics Department, as of 10/2016)

The corresponding trade surplus on the part of Austria amounted to around 2,284 million euros in 2015 , which is the second largest trade surplus for Austria with any other country after the USA and ahead of Great Britain.

Development of the balance in foreign trade between France and Austria in the period 1995–2015

Austria's balance of services in 2015 also showed a positive balance in relation to France, with service exports of around 1,190 million euros compared to services imports of almost exactly 1,000 million euros.

As far as the structure of the involvement of Austrian or French companies in the other country is concerned, the French companies in Austria are dominated by large corporations, which often use Austria as a platform for access to other Central and Eastern European markets. French small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand, are relatively seldom present in Austria and often use German branches or partners to supply the Austrian market. In contrast to this, there are numerous small and medium-sized companies among Austrian companies in France, often market leaders in niche segments , which are increasingly involved in the French market and sometimes use it as a stepping stone to other countries, especially overseas. Eastern France around Strasbourg and the Alsace region play an important role in opening up the French market due to the geographical and cultural proximity as well as partly historical and geographical knowledge of the German language .

Some of the best-known of the over 300 French companies - mainly subsidiaries and branches with over 17,000 employees - that are involved in the Austrian market are Renault (over 185 branches) and other vehicle manufacturers such as B. Citroën and Peugeot as well as Total or Schneider Electric . Conversely, the Austrian companies in France z. B. the Mayr-Melnhof Group , the Montana Holding , the Salzburger Aluminum AG or the Wienerberger AG.

In terms of industry , a large part of Austrian export products are in the areas of machine and plant sales, tractors and motor vehicles, plastic products, electrical machines and apparatus, pharmaceuticals and the iron and steel sector and goods made from them. The food sector with the delivery of baked goods and sugar products as well as fruit juices and energy drinks is also important. On the side of imports to Austria, the delivery of motor vehicles plays a prominent role, followed by machines and systems, foodstuffs, plastic products, electrical machines and apparatus, and pharmaceuticals. The most important sectors for the exchange of goods between Austria and France are therefore quite similar in terms of export and import.

Austrian direct investment in France in 2015 amounted to around 3,737 million euros, which puts France in 17th place in the country ranking of Austrian direct investment, and was responsible for around 9,000 jobs. This contrasted with direct investments from France of 3,133 million euros in the corresponding year, which secured around 10,000 jobs in the corresponding companies in Austria.

Important institutions in the field of economic relations between Austria and France

Foreign trade offices of the Chamber of Commerce in Paris and Strasbourg

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce has two representations in France. The foreign trade office in Strasbourg is specifically responsible for the east of France and the support of Austrian companies and the promotion of Franco-Austrian economic relations in the Alsace and Lorraine regions. The location in Paris is responsible for selbige activities in the rest of the country, with close cooperation of the two points is. The office in Paris was established historically as the very first branch of the Chamber of Commerce and formed the cornerstone of a network that today encompasses over 100 offices abroad. At that time, WKO President Julius Raab appointed the Austrian Eugen Fritz , who lived in France, as the first representative , who was mainly to take care of organizing vital imports for Austria, which was then destroyed by the war. In general, the foreign trade centers , which also operate under the name Advantage Austria abroad, support Austrian companies in particular in their search for suitable trading partners abroad and offer country-specific information for Austrian companies that are already active in the respective market or interested in it. In addition to the relevant quarterly updates and annual reports, specific industry information is also published, numerous networking meetings and topic-specific events are held, and the participation of companies in trade fairs is supported.

Chamber of Commerce Franco-Autrichienne (CCFA)

The French-Austrian Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1989 and has around 300 members, including French branches in Austria as well as Austrian companies and private individuals. In cooperation with the Ubifrance Austria office, the CCFA offers services for French and Austrian companies: relocation of companies, rental of office space, provision of the contact network of the Chamber of Commerce in France and Austria.

Ubifrance

With a global network of 80 offices in 70 countries, Ubifrance supports French companies in entering foreign markets. In Vienna, the agency works with the Franco-Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Ubifance provides information about French technologies, products and services and establishes contact between French companies and corporate partners abroad.

The Austro-French Center (ÖFZ)

The center, which was founded in 1978 by the then French President Jacques Chirac and the Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky , focuses on the organization of international conferences, bilateral colloquiums and seminars in order to strengthen the relations between the two countries and thereby enforce the expansion policy of the European Union. In close cooperation with the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), the ÖFZ works as an international forum within the framework of which the political dialogue between the countries is to be promoted.

Austria Business Agency

The Austrian Business Agency (ABA), founded in 1982, is a state organization that supports foreign direct investments in Austria. The advantages of Austria in this regard are communicated to the outside world and foreign investors are advised and informed primarily on location- relevant economic, political and legal issues.

Austria advertising

Österreich Werbung is partly owned by the Republic of Austria and partly owned by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. It has an international network and endeavors to collect market knowledge about source markets of Austrian tourism and to pass this knowledge on to the Austrian tourism industry and to set targeted advertising impulses to promote a recognizable image for Austria.

Cultural relations

The cultural relations between the two countries are particularly rich. Numerous French artists, musicians and intellectuals perform regularly in Austria.

French remains the most widely learned foreign language in Austria after English. In view of the great importance that the Austrian authorities attach to the French language in their school system , Austria was granted observer status within the international organization of Francophonie in 2006 . In addition, there are important and varied cooperation programs at school and university level. France is the second destination for Austrian students after Spain and before the United States.

Cultural institutes

When the French cultural institutes were founded in Austria after the end of the Second World War, the main goals were, alongside the eradication of National Socialist ideas and democratization, the permanent securing of French influence in Austria. To this end, a cultural agreement between France and Austria was concluded on March 15, 1947. and on November 10, 1947, the Vienna Cultural Institute was inaugurated, which included language courses and cultural events of all kinds among its areas of responsibility. In the course of the 1960s and 1970s, the main focus was shifted to language teaching, which, in addition to theoretical considerations, was due in particular to the tight budget. In the 1980s and 1990s, attempts were made to make the cultural area accessible to a larger section of the population and to modernize the institutes, despite ongoing budget constraints.

Institut Français Autriche

The Institut Français Autriche has set itself five main goals, which are based on teaching French as a foreign language, communicating contemporary French culture and cultural exchange and supporting academic and university cooperation, as well as providing information about France and organizing discussions.

French culture from classic to pop

The French cultural institute organizes numerous readings, concerts, lectures relating to France and language courses at all levels. With the “médiathèque” the cultural institute has an extensive collection of French-language books, magazines, CDs and DVDs.

Every year in April, the “Festival du Film Francophone” takes place in the Votiv Kino in Vienna. With the “Literary Salon in the Palais”, a literary-musical evening, the French cultural association promotes the networking of Austrian and French literature and music. The purpose of the literary salons in the French cultural institute is to network representatives of Austrian, French and international literature and musicians, to present new publications and to offer interesting evenings in the Palais.

The “Club du Mardi” cultural association specializes more in pop culture and organizes the “Fête de la FrancOFFonie” in Vienna and the Austrian edition of the “ Fête de la Musique ”, which started in France but is now taking place all over the world. The “Club du Mardi” also works with the radio program “Les Sardines francophones”, which is broadcast every Monday from 10pm to 11pm on Radio Orange . Nowadays the range of offers has expanded significantly. In addition to language courses and language tests, there is a broad network of educational cooperations and cultural events.

Educational cooperation

The educational and research cooperation between Austria and France officially began with the conclusion of the Austro-French cultural agreement in 1947 . This included three central measures, which include the creation of guest lecturers at the universities in both countries, the exchange of professors and students and the agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas.

The bilateral agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, or Scientific and Technical Agreement (WTA) for short , from 1968 is a separate agreement, but it was equivalent to an expansion of the 1947 cultural agreement. From the beginning of the 1970s and especially in the course of the 1980s, university partnerships between France and Austria increased. In the area of ​​project funding, there has been an Austro-French cooperation with Amadée since 1997 . From the 1990s onwards, Austria entered various multilateral cooperation programs that supplemented or pushed the bilateral partnerships between Austria into the background. These include Erasmus , Lingua, Socrates (now Erasmus +).

But even today there are some Franco-Austrian cooperative master’s programs at university level, such as the sociolinguistic joint master’s program ( University of Paris 5 and University of Innsbruck ), the sociological joint master’s program ( University of Paris 8 and University of Vienna ), MATILDA as a joint master’s program of the University of Vienna and the university Lyon II and a joint Masters program in Creole Anthropology (University of Vienna and University of Lyon II).

Lycée Français de Vienne

The Lycée Français de Vienne was opened on May 11, 1946 and is now located within the large park of the Palais Clam-Gallas at Liechtensteinstrasse 37a.

On March 15, 1947, a first contract between the Austrian and the French Republic was concluded to promote cooperation in the fields of education, training and the university as well as in the literary, scientific and artistic fields.

The agreement of February 22, 1952 defined, on the one hand, the relationship between the Matura and Baccalauréat and, on the other hand, the respective importance of Austrian and French teaching. After being updated several times (1960, 1962, 1968), the contract of January 27, 1983, which is still valid today, contains the key points of the original text.

More examples of collaboration

Diverse club network

The French community is extremely well networked not only in the cultural field: there are around 50 French associations and initiatives in Austria. These include, for example, the international associations of French people abroad - “ Union des Français de l'Etranger ” (UFE) and “ Association Démocratique des Français à l'Etranger ” (ADFE). In addition to their cultural and social commitment, both are politically active - the UFE conservative, the ADFE rather left-wing - and send representatives to the gathering of French expatriates in Paris, which is subordinate to the French Foreign Ministry.

The “ Sportclub Wien Paris ” regularly organizes running meetings, racing bike rides, hikes etc. - with the aim of promoting “Austro-French friendship through sport”. The sports club has been active since 2012 and emerged from the sports group of the French embassy. In addition , many people with French roots are active in the 15 pétanque clubs that exist throughout Austria (pétanque is a boule sport) and in the rugby club of the Lycée Français, the “ RC Stade Viennois ”.

International organization of the Francophonie

International Organization of Francophonie is responsible for international cooperation between its member states and governments. It emerged in 2005 from the agency for cultural and technical cooperation, which was founded in Niger in 1970 . It has 54 member, 23 observer and three partner states. Austria takes on the role of an observer state in this organization. Her self-formulated goals are, on the one hand, to promote the French language as well as the cultural and linguistic diversity of peace, democracy and human rights , and , on the other, to promote school and vocational education, higher education and research. Furthermore, the expansion of cooperation for sustainable development is stated as a goal.

Austro-French Center for Rapprochement in Europe (ÖFZ)

The Austro-French Center for Rapprochement in Europe became a project of the two states on the idea of ​​Bruno Kreisky during the visit of the French ambassador Georges Gaucher on May 31, 1976. On July 27, 1979, a meeting took place between the French Prime Minister Raymond Barre and Willibald Pahr , at which, among other things, the creation of the Austro-French Center was finally finalized. Since then it has been regarded as a center for the international exchange of discussions and ideas between politicians, scientists and other internationally important personalities.

Bruno Kreiskyforum

The Kreiskyforum was founded in 1991 in memory of Bruno Kreisky and still serves as the center of international dialogue for all discussions and conversations about politics, natural sciences or other topics on which an exchange of views is possible. The building itself is located at Armbrustergasse 15 in the 19th district of Vienna.

literature

  • Thomas Angerer: France and the Austrian question. Historical basis and guidelines 1945–1955 . Dissertation . University of Vienna, 1996.
  • Thomas Angerer (Ed.): "A spring that was not followed by a summer" ?: French-Austrian cultural transfers since 1945 . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-205-98852-3 .
  • Friedrich Koja: France-Austria: Mutual perception and mutual influence since 1918. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Graz 1994, ISBN 3-205-98295-9 .
  • Franz Richard Reiter: Our fight in France for Austria. Interviews with resistance fighters . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Graz 1984, ISBN 3-205-07093-3 .
  • Ernst Schwager: Austrian emigration in France 1938–1945 . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Graz 1984, ISBN 3-205-08747-X .

Web links

Commons : Franco-Austrian relations  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

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