Chronic. “Our love for France is indestructible. ” Whether a British prime minister indulges in such an outpouring is in itself something to be questioned. But let it be Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, who thus entrusts his call to journalists on the plane that takes him to New York the day after the snub inflicted on France by Joe Biden, the American president, with the complicity of London in the case of the Australian submarines, it seems almost worrying.
To French ears, there is often something fishy about British courtesies. “With the utmost respect …” Doesn’t it really mean “you are an asshole” ? The art of exquisite courtesy that masks outright rejection (” Unfortunately… “) belongs to a register perceived in France as that of British perfidies.
The history of relations between France and the United Kingdom can be written, from century to century, following the common thread of rivalry and jealousy. “Love and hate, instead of alternating, have always been simultaneous – What could be more exciting? We are an infernal couple ”, historian Robert Tombs notes in France and UK. Intimate enemies (Armand Colin, 2012). Commenting on the current crisis in relations between the two countries, probably the worst since de Gaulle’s veto against British membership in the European Community in 1963, the journalist from the Telegraph Celia Walden confirms: “Nothing can make us happier than a fight between frogs [Français] and roast beef [Anglais]. »
Grudge below disdain
It is not uncommon for disappointments suffered on one side of the Canal to provoke an excitement on the other side. Schadenfreude, this bad joy at the idea of the misfortune of others. In fact, a certain joy has welcomed, in the United Kingdom, the marginalization of Paris in the alliance sealed between Washington, London and Canberra baptized “Aukus”, an acronym that cruelly resonates in Francophone ears. A joy that Johnson tried to hide with his forced declaration of love, but that the pro-Brexit press expresses without restraint.
While the Sun rejoices in front of “The fury of Macron”, the Telegraph see there the sign of a “Long custom of European elites” For “Regrettably treating its geopolitical partners under a mask of moral superiority.” Seen from a country where showing anger is a sign of weakness, the disdain shown by France: the Quai d’Orsay called the United Kingdom. “Fifth wheel of the carriage” – It hides an immense disappointment and refers to the obsession that Paris would have to punish London for Brexit. By exaggerating its anger, France would only underline what is at stake in the Aukus pact: the UK’s prominent place on the international stage, even after its divorce from the EU.
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