In relationships, it can sometimes take time to figure out why you no longer trust each other. That is not necessary in the relationship between France and Great Britain. The trigger for the Franco-British alienation is pretty clear: Brexit.
Even if, since the referendum on the British exit from the EU, both sides have repeatedly asserted that they want to remain friends, they could only be opponents in the Brexit negotiations. Well, five years after the referendum, that hasn’t changed much. While there is a trade deal between the EU and the UK, Boris Johnson still has to prove that Brexit is a success. It is up to Emmanuel Macron to do the opposite.
So there is a British Prime Minister and a French President facing each other, who are not very interested in approaching each other. Because both of them use their rivalry primarily domestically, they show it off in a demonstrative way. And so a dispute over fishing rights after Brexit is turned into a fight for national identity. It does not matter that it is only about a few dozen licenses that are of little economic importance.
The Tories stand behind Johnson when he takes to the field against “the French”
For Johnson and Macron, one thing above all else is important: they can use this foreign policy conflict as an instrument for their own ends. Brexit is still in the UK Prime Minister’s Conservative Party the Guarantor for cohesion. In contrast to climate targets or corona measures, Johnson can unite his Tories behind him when he goes into the Brexit fight against “the French”.
Macron also uses the resentment of his compatriots when he accuses “the English” of breaking the Brexit treaty in the fisheries dispute. The president has to rebut the argument of the French far-right, who claim that the British won the “Brexit battle”, and pretend that France’s future is best outside the EU anyway. It looks like Brexit is likely to play one role or another before the French presidential election in the spring.
Both have to be careful not to overdo it
But despite all the mistrust that has built up between Johnson and Macron in recent years, the two have to be careful not to overdo it. It’s not easy, after all, both men are very confident of themselves. So you can be prepared for completely unnecessary provocations to continue.
In London, for example, it is not forgotten that Macron publicly discredited the corona vaccine from the British-Swedish manufacturer Astra Zeneca during the peak of the pandemic. And in Paris people still turn up their noses at Johnson, who dismissed Macron’s grudge against the “Aukus” military alliance between Australia, Great Britain and the USA with the words: “Donnez-moi un break.”
Well, Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron are definitely not going to leave themselves alone. They can’t do that either, after all, they’re neighbors. And as such, despite all the historically grown rivalries of their nations, they must not forget one thing: the stability of the West depends not least on London and Paris pulling together. Hopefully in the same direction again.