to criticize Europeans for acts that were going to have consequences they couldn't imagine. It's so easy to blast against the French and the English for not stopping Hitler in 1938! No one, outside of Hitler's circle had any idea they were going to invade the rest of Europe.
Some certainly thought he would but it was a matter of faith until it really happened. Time machines don't exist.
And of course, I'm quite amused by your mixing Europeans.
Only the French said "Yankee go home" and this in the 50's.
No one else.
Kissinger has said, much later, it was a very good thing France left NATO, because it meant the Soviets had more than just one block against it and were confused as to what position France had.
I remember Mitterrrand (a socialist) once said: "Pacifists are in the west, the Missiles (SS20,etc) are in the East". And France had its missile silos at the Plateau d'Albion until 1995 when it became an astronomical site.

Raoul