The English and French have always found the reason for a good fight. The Norman Conquest started because of the supposedly unfulfilled promise of the English King Edward the Confessor. The Hundred Years war was caused by the territorial dispute between Angevin Empire and France over the duchy of Guyenne, France’s numerous military and political supports of Scotland during their wars for independence were caused by the fears of rising England’s influence in the region and de facto are the examples of the politics of containment of that time. Then followed the conflicts with Spain where England played the Balance of Power politics and interchangeably supported both Spain and France, and even got a nickname for that – Perfidious Albion. Then followed numerous other conflicts between the two nations for the very similar immediate reasons which are the land disputes in Europe and in the colonies, the mutual fears and the balance of power type of rationale.
Without a shadow of doubt, we can say that the Great Britain and France were existential enemies for at least 750 years, up until 1853, when the Crimean War broke out and both countries took the same side with the “sick man of Europe”, the Ottoman Empire, and fought against Russian expansion in the Eastern Europe and Palestine. Then the old foes cooperated in the Opium Wars, took a similar stance on the American Civil War, then signed historical Entente Cordiale agreements which ended all the colonial disputes in Africa, Americas and the Far East, bringing the countries closer to each other. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the First World War and the Paris Peace Conference, had a complete understanding on how to divide the Middle East on their spheres of influence and even almost became one country in 1940, called “Franco-British Union”.
Today we can safely claim that the last time the Great Britain and France went to war against each other was in 1815, it was the Battle of Waterloo which brought to a halt the Napoleonic Wars and the rivalry between the two countries up until this point. There are reasons to believe that they will never go to war against each other in the foreseeable future.
Both Countries Have Abandoned Their Imperial Ambitions
Throughout the centuries both countries have been striving for the European and global expansion which culminated in the Pax Britannica for the United Kingdom and the Empire Français for France. After the First and Second World Wars both countries have gradually deconstructed their empires and slowly turned into the humble nation-states, which automatically eliminates many potential reasons for the conflict.
The Old Foes Are Weak Economically
The Great Britain and France both demonstrated their inability to manage their government finances even in the peace times of the last 75 years, and the persisting budget deficits are the good indicators of this trend. They found themselves in the list of the most indebted countries in the world, which means that they live well-beyond their means and another significant military expenditure is most likely out of the question. For example, the UK has undertaken some painful $10.5 billion defence budget cuts, which brought the country to the point when some experts think that it’s no longer capable to defend itself without NATO. On the other hand, France has still a significant presence in Africa and the Middle East and even wants to create the united European Army.
Nuclear Weapons Make Friends
There have been a lot of arguments between the political and military scientists whether the nuclear weapons actually prevented the Soviet Union and the United States from involving into a full-range war against each other, whether the so-called nuclear peace actually exists. If it does, both France and the United Kingdom, the members of the Nuclear Club, are going to think twice before starting another hot confrontation with each other.
Religion No Longer Matters
It is not a secret that one of the fundamental differences the two nations had were religious in nature. The Anglican London was never too keen on the Catholic Paris, and was even unsuccessfully involved in the Reformation war in France in XVI century trying to turn it into Protestantism. The religious tensions started easing only by the XIX century when both countries and the whole Europe slowly started to secularize. Today Europe almost completely shifted away from its spiritual roots and once Christian nations are among the least religious countries in the world.
To sum up, the two Great Powers of Europe have a deep-rooted history of rivalry and mutual hate which resulted in the bloody wars and conflicts both in Europe and the colonial world. However, there were no military conflicts between the nations for the last 200 years, there are strong reasons to believe that the next 200 years will be the same for their relations. The gradual decline in their influence in the world and the loss of the Christian faith eliminate the underlying causes of their misunderstanding.
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