tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-776872662073607566.post446173073686448590..comments2023-09-06T22:30:02.061+10:00Comments on The Knight & Drummer: The French are Revolting too.Amfortashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474382097575605017noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-776872662073607566.post-76110060053358605262016-11-30T11:11:37.686+11:002016-11-30T11:11:37.686+11:00Read the Cabinet Papers from 1946 with a 60 year e...Read the Cabinet Papers from 1946 with a 60 year embargo The French PM was trying an end- run past the President.Amfortashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07474382097575605017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-776872662073607566.post-21697806886491724972016-11-30T05:16:52.193+11:002016-11-30T05:16:52.193+11:001946 was a complex time. In 1940, France broke a m...1946 was a complex time. In 1940, France broke a mutual defence pact with Britain, then they formed an enemy-sympathising government, then threatened the entire war effort by not only not surrendering their fleet to Britain but not even scuppering it, then de Gaulle almost ignored Brtain's role in keeping France alive as a country and in freeing their nation in 1944. In short, the French nation had a while to go to earn Britain's trust.<br /><br />Anyway, I think you are confused (too much imbibing at the tavern?) as de Gaulle was never interested in links with Britain and would have kept the UK out of the EC (what was to become the EEC, then EU) if he could have. The closest Britain and France got to becoming united since the 13th(?) century was at the time of the Suez Crisis, which was in the mid-50s sometime. Even then, I don't think it would have come to anything had either the French or British been asked.Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524946823160172955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-776872662073607566.post-25190651501338285982016-11-30T01:19:14.268+11:002016-11-30T01:19:14.268+11:00Interesting observations and analysis, Doug. Ref ...Interesting observations and analysis, Doug. Ref that almost last bit.... Britain really dropped the ball back in 1946. OK, it was devastated, but..... The French asked the British Cabinet to consider France becoming a member of the British Commonwealth with the Queen the French Head of State as she was everywhere in the Commonwealth. Britain and France could have jointly rebuilt europe together. But the British rejected the idea. That was very likely due to American pressure. But the 'common market' could have started with France and Britain rather than with France and Germany.<br />Amfortashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07474382097575605017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-776872662073607566.post-44893030121665130182016-11-29T22:04:04.300+11:002016-11-29T22:04:04.300+11:00European politics has been moving leftwards since ...European politics has been moving leftwards since the 1940s. In that climate, it might be fair to say that what was one the catholic middle-ground is now the far right: not because of a catholic, or even Catholic, change but because of the progressive invasion of private life by state and at the same time the paradoxical push for 'anything goes'.<br /><br />The French votes rejecting the European Constitution referendum in 2005 were less than 55% of votes cast. The "massive vote by the British in favour of Brexit" was less than 52%. The "democratic choice" for Donald Trump actually had him getting less votes than Clinton and only winning because of the USA's strange concept of democracy. If we are to be honest when drawing trends from this, there is no reason to think the world is about to be revolting.<br /><br />Fillon has won the primaries but unlike Hilary Clinton Fillon is likely to romp home with the Presidency unless his campaign goes badly wrong. Le Pen has vowed to take France out of the EU, so it will be interesting to see if the Fillon campaign decide to neutralise that election grouping by also vowing to exit the EU, or to gather the opposition and promising to stay in the EU.<br /><br />For the EU as a whole, France's position becomes a vital matter. Without France or Britain, the EU will be so clearly a German-led powerhouse that Germany will either have to start making the concessions in the EU that Denmark, Italy, Netherlands and France (and Britain) want, or see the entire EU, or Germany, collapse. It is even possible, if France exists next year, that Britain and France will kick-start their own version of a European Common Market, with the few other non-EU countries in Europe that want to have a shared market but not a shared political and cultural future.Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524946823160172955noreply@blogger.com