‘West. East. Europe. Wanted: a stable position’. On 7 July 1980, as French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing makes an official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, French cartoonist Alain Tredez illustrates the question of the future of European integration and the role played by Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the French President to guarantee the stability of a Europe that is facing many economic and political challenges.