Entente Cordiale - Commemoration

Commemoration

The hundredth anniversary of the Entente cordiale in 2004 was marked by a number of official and unofficial events, including a state visit to France in April by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, and a return visit by President Chirac in November. British troops (the band of the Royal Marines, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Grenadier Guards and King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery) also led the Bastille Day parade in Paris for the first time, with the Red Arrows flying overhead.

In both London Waterloo International and Paris Gare du Nord, the flags of the United Kingdom and of France are depicted connected with the words 'Entente cordiale' superimposed on posters. However a number of French political leaders had complained about the name "Waterloo" for the destination of trains from Paris because the British terminus is named after the 1815 battle where a British-led alliance defeated Napoleon's army. In 1998, French politician Florent Longuepée wrote to the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair demanding, without success, that the name be changed. As of November 2007 this has been removed as St Pancras International became the new London terminus for the Eurostar service.

During his March 2008 summit with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a stronger entente amicale ("friendly understanding") between the two nations in a speech before the House of Commons. Brown, in turn, called for an entente formidable ("formidable understanding"), emphasizing military cooperation between the United Kingdom and France and possibly indicating an interest in European military integration and strengthening the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.

The 'entente cordiale' remains a significant factor in both countries' diplomacy in the 21st century, manifesting itself in the 'Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty' signed by President Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron on 2 November 2010. This treaty formed a joint Anglo-French military capability and recognised the shared strategic interests of the two nations as well as the fiscal reality that neither of the former great powers could maintain a globally significant military alone.

Entente frugale is a wry reference term for cooperation between the British and French governments, announced in November 2010. It relates to a military procurement, which is driven by cost constraints.