The Telegraph, March 16, Robert Tombs
Politicians are prone to think that a “reset” of relations can be achieved by a warm handshake and a hug for the cameras. But sometimes, the mask slips, and then they would do well to recall the dictum of that old bruiser Palmerston: no permanent allies, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Our French friends have never forgotten this, and indeed they often quote Palmerston, thinking it reflects British attitudes. If only!
The latest slipping of the mask is the report that France is holding up the procurement of ammunition for Ukraine because it wants only EU firms to be considered. Does this ring a bell? For me, it is exactly what happened over the Covid vaccine. Then, the French were determined to have a “European” (read French) vaccine, and an EU system was set up to produce one. But the famous Institut Pasteur and Sanofi failed to create one in time.
Oxford University and AstraZeneca, backed by British taxpayers’ money, succeeded. President Macron claimed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was dangerous and ineffective, and the EU (rather illogically) tried to intimidate AstraZeneca into diverting supplies of its jab to Europe. More important than hastening mass vaccinations were the prestige of France and the interests of EU drug companies.
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