France's reintegration into NATO indicates a largely symbolic orientation and a strategic turnaround, analysts say.

In 1966, then President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the command and evicted all allied troops and bases from the country in an effort to assert sovereignty over its territory.

But the withdrawal was never a complete one and separation was not destined to last forever. In fact, France's subsequent rapprochement with NATO took place in stages, especially after the end of the Cold War.

By 1992, France had joined the NATO operations in Kosovo. And French troops also participated in military campaigns in Afghanistan.

In 1996, France said it would re-establish a permanent military mission to NATO, and in 2004 French military officials were again part of the NATO command.

Currently, more than 4,000 French soldiers are stationed on almost 90 percent of NATO missions worldwide. France is present in 36 of the 38 NATO military committees and it is one of the biggest contributors, and therefore it wants to have a say in where the money goes.

One of France's ambitions in fully joining NATO again "is to shape the future of NATO," as some experts point out.

It is expected that the new French members of the General Staff will supervise the Allied Command Transformation project in Virginia.

In addition, French military officials will take over the regional command headquarters in Lisbon, the location of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force and its satellite reconnaissance system.

Sarkozy has received congratulatory messages on his NATO plans from Brussels. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop welcomed the return of France to NATO.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Sarkozy's decision to return France to NATO's military command structure will strengthen the European component of the Western alliance.

Despite the harsh criticism leveled by domestic politicians, about 58 percent of French say they support their country's return to the NATO command structure, according to a survey.

Meanwhile, Sarkozy has made it clear that despite the coming debate in parliament, the decision on France's return to NATO has already been made.

At the beginning, he was looking for discussion and transparency in dealing with the issue, but in the end, he would assume his responsibility as head of state and commander-in-chief, analysts say.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2009)