The historical ties between France and the United Kingdom, and the countries preceding them, are long and complex, including conquest, wars, and alliances at various points in history. The Roman era saw both areas largely conquered by Rome, whose fortifications largely remain in both countries to this day. The Norman conquest of England in 1066, followed by the long domination of the Plantagenet dynasty of French origin, decisively shaped the English language and led to early conflict between the two nations.

Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern Period, France and England were often bitter rivals, with both nations' monarchs claiming control over France and France routinely allying against England with their other rival Scotland until the Union of the Crowns. The historical rivalry between the two nations was seeded in the Capetian-Plantagenet rivalry over the French holdings of the Plantagenets in France. After the French victory in the Hundred Years' War, England would never again establish a foothold in French territory.

Rivalry continued with many Anglo-French wars. The last major conflict between the two was the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), in which coalitions of European powers, financed by London, fought a series of wars against the French First Republic, the First French Empire and its client states, culminating in the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. For several decades the peace was uneasy with fear of French invasion in 1859 and during the later rivalry for African colonies. Nevertheless, peace has generally prevailed since Napoleon I, and friendly ties between the two were formally established with the 1904 Entente Cordiale, and the British and French were allied against Germany in both World War I and World War II; in the latter conflict, British armies helped to liberate occupied France from Nazi Germany.

France and the UK were key partners in the West during the Cold War, consistently supporting liberal democracy and capitalism. They were founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defence alliance and are permanent members of the UN Security Council. France has been a member of the European Union (EU), and its predecessors, since creation as the European Economic Community in 1957. In the 1960s, relations deteriorated due to French President Charles de Gaulle's concerns over the special relationship between the UK and the United States. He repeatedly vetoed British entry into the European Communities, the predecessor to the EU, and withdrew France from NATO integrated command, arguing the alliance was too heavily dominated by the United States.

In 1973, following de Gaulle's death, the UK entered the European Communities and in 2009 France returned to an active role in NATO under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. Since then, the two countries have experienced a close relationship, especially on defence and foreign policy issues; however they disagreed on several other matters, most notably the direction of the European Union.Britain and France: the impossible, indispensable relationship , The Economist, 1 Dec 2011 The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020, following the referendum held on 23 June 2016, on Brexit. Relations have since deteriorated, with disagreements surrounding Brexit and the English Channel migrant crisis.

In the 21st century, France and Britain, though they have chosen different paths and share many overlooked similarities (with roughly the same population, economic size, commitment to democracy, diplomatic clout, and as heads of former global empires.France is becoming the new Britain, The Financial Times, March 2, 2023: "The countries are twins: two absurdly over-centralised former empires of 67mn people, forever struggling with deindustrialisation, where the past overhangs the present like a shroud."Why Britain and France Hate Each Other, The Atlantic, September 24, 2021: "[...] far from being diametrically opposed, France and Britain are more similar than perhaps any other two countries on Earth. Not only in terms of population, wealth, imperial past, global reach, and democratic tradition, but the deeper stuff too: the sense of exceptionalism, fear of decline, instinct for national independence, desire for respect, and angst over the growing power of others, whether that be the United States, Germany, or China. London and Paris may have chosen different strategies—and there is nothing to say that both are equally meritorious—but the parallels between these two nations are obvious."'Whereas the French always believe they are sliding into some catastrophe, the English are complacent', Le Monde, July 29, 2022: "On the face of it, the UK and France are twins: 67 million inhabitants each, absurdly over-centralised, with almost identical GDP and lost imperial grandeur. Yet the two countries have taken different paths."The real special relationship – Britain and France have more in common than either does with a third country, The Financial Times, May 12, 2023: "To an eerie degree, France and Britain are alike in population (67mn) and output ($3tn). Manufacturing is the same 9 per cent share of their economies. Their armed forces are comparable. Both built and lost extra-European empires and now have about the same weight in world affairs. One joined the European project from the start, one tarried and ultimately quit, but neither believed the nation state and hard power were forms of Oldthink."), are often still referred to as "historic rivals",Economies of Britain and France have more similarities than differences, The Guardian, 5 January 2014 with a perceived ever-lasting competition."The two countries are forever comparing one against the other.[...]", Britain-France ties: How cordial is the entente?, BBC News, 30 January 2014 French author José-Alain Fralon characterised the relationship between the countries by describing the British as "our most dear enemies".

It is estimated that about 350,000 French people live in the UK, with approximately 200,000 Britons living in France. Royaume-Uni – France Diplomacie Both countries are members of the Council of Europe and NATO. France is a European Union member and the United Kingdom is a former European Union member.

History

1945–1956

The UK and France became close in the aftermath of World War II, as both feared the Americans would withdraw from Europe leaving them vulnerable to the Soviet Union's expanding communist bloc. The UK was successful in strongly advocating that France be given a zone of occupied Germany. Both states were amongst the five Permanent Members of the new UN Security Council, where they commonly collaborated. However, France was bitter when the United States and Britain refused to share atomic secrets with it. An American operation to use air strikes (including the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons) during the climax of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954 was cancelled because of opposition by the British. The upshot was France developed its own nuclear weapons and delivery systems.Peter K. Parides, "The Halban Affair and British Atomic Diplomacy at the End of the Second World War." Diplomacy & Statecraft 23.4 (2012): 619–635.

The Cold War began in 1947, as the United States, with strong British support, announced the Truman Doctrine to contain Communist expansion and provided military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. Despite its large pro-Soviet Communist Party, France joined the Allies. The first move was the Franco-British alliance realised in the Dunkirk Treaty in March 1947.Sean Greenwood, "Return to Dunkirk: The origins of the Anglo‐French treaty of March 1947." Journal of Strategic Studies 6.4 (1983): 49–65.

Suez Crisis

In 1956, the Suez Canal, previously owned by an Anglo-French company, was nationalised by the Egyptian government. The British and the French were both strongly committed to taking the canal back by force.Turner p.186 President Eisenhower and the Soviet Union demanded there be no invasion and both imposed heavy pressure to reverse the invasion when it came. The relations between Britain and France were not entirely harmonious, as the French did not inform the British about the involvement of Israel until very close to the commencement of military operations.Turner p.267 The failure in Suez convinced Paris it needed its own nuclear weapons.Wilfred L. Kohl, French nuclear diplomacy (Princeton University Press, 2015).Jacques E.C. Hymans, "Why Do States Acquire Nuclear Weapons? Comparing the Cases of India and France." in Nuclear India in the Twenty-First Century (2002). 139–160. online

Common Market

Immediately after the Suez crisis Anglo-French relations started to sour again, and only since the last decades of the 20th century have they improved towards the peak they achieved between 1900 and 1940.

Shortly after 1956, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg formed what would become the European Economic Community and later the European Union, but rejected British requests for membership. In particular, President Charles de Gaulle's attempts to exclude the British from European affairs during France's early Fifth Republic are now seen by many in Britain as a betrayal of the strong bond between the countries, and Anthony Eden's exclusion of France from the Commonwealth is seen in a similar light in France. The French partly feared that were the British to join the EEC they would attempt to dominate it.

Over the years, the UK and France have often taken diverging courses within the European Community. British policy has favoured an expansion of the Community and free trade while France has advocated a closer political union and restricting membership of the Community to a core of Western European states.

De Gaulle

In 1958, with France mired in a seemingly unwinnable war in Algeria, Charles de Gaulle returned to power in France. He created the Fifth French Republic, ending the post-war parliamentary system and replacing it with a strong Presidency, which became dominated by his followers—the Gaullists. De Gaulle made ambitious changes to French foreign policy—first ending the war in Algeria, and then withdrawing France from the NATO command structure. The latter move was primarily symbolic, but NATO headquarters moved to Brussels and French generals had a much lesser role.Philip G. Cerny, The Politics of Grandeur: Ideological Aspects of de Gaulle's Foreign Policy (1980).W.W. Kulski, De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic (1966) passim online free to borrow

French policy blocking British entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) was primarily motivated by political rather than economic considerations. In 1967, as in 1961–63, de Gaulle was determined to preserve France's dominance within the EEC, which was the foundation of the nation's international stature. His policy was to preserve the Community of Six while barring Britain. Although France succeeded in excluding Britain in the short term, in the longer term the French had to adjust their stance on enlargement in order to retain influence. De Gaulle feared that letting Britain into the European Community would open the way for "Anglo-Saxon" (i.e., US and UK) influence to overwhelm the France-West Germany coalition that was now dominant. On 14 January 1963, de Gaulle announced that France would veto Britain's entry into the Common Market.Helen Parr, "Saving the Community: The French response to Britain's second EEC application in 1967." Cold War History 6#4 (2006): 425–454.

Since 1969

When de Gaulle resigned in 1969, a new French government under Georges Pompidou was prepared to open a more friendly dialogue with Britain. He felt that in the economic crises of the 1970s, Europe needed Britain. Pompidou welcomed British membership of the EEC, opening the way for the United Kingdom to join it in 1973.