Partly in the light of reactions in the French press, the author analyses the factors which played a role in the development why the United States had entered the military scene in the Gulf war (why was the timing optimal to realise its interests), and what factors determined the dual nature of Europe's reaction: its detachment from the American standpoint on the one hand and entering the war on the other. He notes that the left wing, due to the contradictory lines, could not give an appropriate response to the Gulf war which also proves that the left needs new points of orientation, new theoretical platforms in order to remain among the important forces of the world.