Why it is our relationship with France that is truly special - Yorkshire Post Letters

Readers will have had different reactions to seeing the UK Prime Minister in Paris standing at the side of French president Emmanuel Macron in an open car as they were driven to the Armistice commemoration.

Earlier this year many were intrigued to see troops of the French Republican Guard taking part in the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace with the Coldstream Guards performing a similar role at the Élysée Palace in Paris for the 120th anniversary of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale.

Internal French politics will have influenced Macron’s invitation, but it was nevertheless an honour for the British leader to have been given a central role in what is essentially a moment of French national reflection and commemoration.

In 1904 the Entente Cordiale put a stop to the geopolitical rivalry that had for centuries pitted the two nations against each other, although military co-operation had begun with the Crimean War in 1854.

Deep military co-operation continues today with solidarity in London and Paris as to how best to assist Ukraine and it’s worth remembering that Britain and France haven’t fought against each other since 1815.

Since WWII Paris has promoted the cause of European integration as to guarantee peace and security. London has prioritised a special relationship with Washington but in doing so British policy became dependent on the vagaries of American voters whose world view is often not that of Britons who are largely European in their social democratic outlook.

The UK is committed to Europe’s military defence, but Brexit UK exiled itself from the economic and political structures underpinning the military alliance. Brexit has also deprived British people of the right to live and work elsewhere in Europe and prevented young Europeans from embracing British culture.

France hasn’t lost its sovereignty through EU membership. Many French commentators argue that sovereignty has been protected and enhanced through the EU. France retains UN Security Council permanent membership and like Britain has its own nuclear arsenal.

We kid ourselves about the special relationship with America, valuable though it is. Britain’s links with France are deeper, stronger and a thousand years old. It is a relationship to cherish and isn’t just about military co-operation. Negotiating complete freedom of movement for young people between the two countries would deepen the relationship and make hours of learning French verb endings relevant.