Saturday, May 4, 2024

The Enduring Legacy of the Entente Cordiale

On April 8, 2024, UK Foreign Minister David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne co-wrote an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph celebrating the historic 120th anniversary of the French-English Entente Cordiale signed as a secret mutual security pact on April 8, 1904.

The clown duo wrote of the 21st century entente as integral to defeating Russia: “It is not for France and Britain alone to solve these challenges. But, together, we can rally others to join us in overcoming them… We must do even more to ensure we defeat Russia. The world is watching – and will judge us if we fail.”

French President Emmanuel Macron chimed in delivering a speech, saying: “Our Entente Cordiale remains as relevant as ever. Faced with the resurgence of war in Europe, we stand together to defend the values we share and to support Ukraine as it defends itself against its aggressor.”

Not only was the entente celebrated in words, but for the first time in history, French troops participated in the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace, and British troops joined a military parade at the Presidential Elysee Palace, marching alongside French troops to the melodies of ‘God Save the King’ and ‘La Marseilles’.

Since the Entente Cordiale’s anniversary is exerting such an influence on current geopolitical thinking, I wanted to take a moment to leap back into a bit of history to see what this secret military pact was originally, and how ALL world wars of the 20th century would have been impossible without it.