Last April, for the 120 years of their “cordial agreement” (agreements which put an end to a millennium of disputes), French and British had offered two unpublished parades. Wearing their great black fur caps, grenadiers of the royal house had participated in the succession of the guard at the Elysée, while members of the Republican Guard did the same in front of Buckingham Palace.
Beyond the ceremonial, a whole common mechanics animates the collaboration of Paris and London on a daily basis, both permanent members of the UN Security Council. It goes as far as close cooperation in the development of armaments, in particular in the nuclear field.
The aggressiveness and disdain with whom Donald Trump deals with Europeans make this cordial understanding more essential than ever for the future of the old continent. “In 1995, President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister John Major had marked a very strong strategic rapprochement by claiming that they did not imagine a situation in which the vital interests of one of the two countries could not be threatened without those on the other is also, recalls Frédéric Charillon, professor at Paris Cité University and author of Geopolitics of intimidation. Alone in front of the war? (Odile Jacob). We are in this configuration: we feared American disengagement, it’s much worse, since Trump takes up the cause for Putin, while Europe depends on the United States for his defense. “
Before their trips to this week’s White House, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, were closely coordinated to try to obtain from the Republican that he did not give up his partners. Whether or not it turns their back on them, they have every interest in building their collaboration even more, as their involvement in European security.
Because France and the United Kingdom are essential. The two countries have the most seasoned armies in Europe at the same time as nuclear deterrence. Their “agreement” is a safety training force, as their continental allies know. She can also take advantage of the arrival of a new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, resolved that Europe is “capable of defending itself”. Faced with American distance, she no longer has a choice and will have to raise custody.