France holds the Presidency of Western European Union (WEU) from January to December 2008 and the Presidency of the European Union (EU) from July to December 2008. European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is one of its priorities. This policy, though modest in scope, is a success story. Through ESDP military and civil operations, Europeans can work together to promote world peace. It is a policy that has reached its limits, however, and it will take bold political initiatives for ESDP to develop further. France could play a decisive role during its presidency, proposing ambitious new approaches while retaining the spirit of the innovations contained in the Lisbon Treaty in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). France, which is in the process of redefining its national security and defence priorities, has declared that it wants to give its national endeavours a European perspective. While the highest French authorities intend giving European defence the priority it deserves, they must also be mindful of the expectations of European citizens in matters of transparency and the democratic oversight of ESDP, of which the large majority of the public are in favour.