Franco-British Union

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The Franco-British Union was a never realized project to establish a federation between Great Britain and France or even to unite the two states, which was proposed twice in the 20th century : in 1940 by the British and in 1956 by the French.

prehistory

Regarding the connection between the two countries France and the United Kingdom, it is interesting as a prehistory that the English and British kings raised a claim to the French throne for 500 years (from approx. Queen of France ”( King / Queen of France ). This is based on the claim of the House of Lancaster , which descended from the Normans , to the French throne, which the English tried in vain to enforce in the Hundred Years' War (1339-1453). (At the time, French was the common language of the royal family and the nobility in England.) It was only in the wake of the French Revolution and the Act of Union in 1800 renounced George the Third from the House of Hanover in the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 de jure to the French throne.

Background: The historical relationship between France and Great Britain

Since the great conflict in the Hundred Years War, France and England / Great Britain have been regarded as “natural enemies” in the concert of the major European powers. They faced each other in the War of the Spanish Succession and the Seven Years' War as well as in the coalition wars when Napoléon Bonaparte tried in vain to take the "island fortress" of Great Britain. Only with the signing of the entente cordiale (literally: cordial agreement) directed against the efforts of the German Empire in 1904 did the relations between the two countries improve and they were allies in both world wars . However, after the failure of the Union efforts described in more detail below, relations remained rather cold, which was most recently shown in the controversy over the Iraq war . The reasons for this are often the differences in mentality between the two countries:

vs.

Even if these characterizations no longer apply today, they are still often cited as reasons why the relationship between the two countries, in contrast to that of the former war opponents Germany and France, is officially friendly, but is often burdened by prejudice at the level of the population . The British ( les rosbifs ) are considered dirty and primitive by the French, while the French ( the frogs ) are considered lazy and unreliable by the British. Since the opening of the Eurotunnel in 1994, however, many British people have discovered their preference for France as a relatively inexpensive shopping and travel destination, which has led to a more positive image of the respective neighbor.

Approaches in the 20th century

Attempt 1940

After the German Wehrmacht had decisively defeated the French army after the French declaration of war on Germany, Winston Churchill proposed a union between France and Great Britain in 1940. The two governments should declare a Franco-British Union . Common institutions for defense, foreign policy, finance and economy as well as a common state budget were planned. During the war, a cabinet should rule, this should have the supreme command of the common armed forces. The two parliaments should merge, the seat of government should be in the best possible place.

British motives in 1940 were:

  • the fear of a collaboration between the French and the Germans as well
  • the beginning of the aerial warfare over Great Britain

Churchill hoped to keep the French in line with a union with France. While the nationalist faction around Marshal Pétain, collaborating with the Third Reich, rejected the offer, Charles de Gaulle was also inclined to this idea in exile in London and was also able to win over Prime Minister Paul Reynaud , who, however, could not stay in government and was replaced by Pétain.

After the end of the war, neither side did anything in this direction for 11 years. (Both Churchill and de Gaulle lost their position of power soon after the war ended.)

Attempt 1956

In 1956, during the Suez Crisis in London, the French Prime Minister Guy Mollet tried again to make the annexation of France to the United Kingdom palatable to the British. The Parisian diplomats had proposed Frangleterre ( France = France; Angleterre = England) as a common name for this . This time the British refused. In fact, the officials of the Foreign Ministry gave this mariage cordiale no chance of realization. The incident only came to light in 2006 through file studies in Great Britain, apparently there are no more records in France. Alternatively, France wanted to join the Commonwealth of Nations . The basis was a common citizenship and Elizabeth II as the common head of state. That was also rejected.

French motifs in 1956 were (see sources):

  • the difficult post-war economic situation in France, especially in contrast to Germany
  • the tense situation in the North African colonies since Nasser supported the independence movement in Algeria
  • Tensions between Jordan and Israel with Britain as an ally of Jordan and France as an ally of Israel could have led to a conflict between the two countries. Ultimately, however, Great Britain, France and Israel acted together against Egypt in the Suez War of 1956.

After British rejection, France joined the European Economic Community with its former enemies ( Germany and Italy ) less than a year later (which later resulted in the EU ). It was finally de Gaulle who, during his tenure as President (1958–1969), advocated reconciliation with Germany ( Élysée Treaty 1963) and a "Europe of Nations" without British participation (double veto against the British joining the EEC ) pronounced.

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