{"id":42675,"date":"2023-09-21T09:01:38","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T08:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ihedn.fr\/?p=42675"},"modified":"2025-04-18T08:21:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T07:21:18","slug":"relation-de-defense-royaume-uni-france-une-progression-constante","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ihedn.fr\/en\/notre-selection\/relation-de-defense-royaume-uni-france-une-progression-constante\/","title":{"rendered":"UK-France defence relations: steady progress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After the defeat of Napoleon I in 1815, France and the United Kingdom learned to settle the centuries of differences that had pitted them against each other since the Middle Ages. Without going back as far as the first Entente Cordiale (1833) or their alliance during the Crimean War (1853-56), we can see that the military dimension has become increasingly important over the decades.<\/p>

In 1904, the second Entente Cordiale saw the first exchanges of officers between the two armies; this dimension was increased after the Treaty of Dunkirk (1947) and the Saint-Malo Summit (1998). But it is over the last 15 years that the Franco-British defence relationship has been considerably strengthened, notably with the Treaty of Lancaster House in 2010. This set in stone the assurance of joint military cooperation between France and the UK. Brexit, which came into force at the beginning of 2020, has had no impact on this bilateral relationship.<\/p>

Signed on 2 November 2010 by David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, Lancaster House has created a legal framework and identified synergies. The agreement reflects a shared commitment to operational cooperation, the pooling of resources and the rationalisation of capabilities. It has greatly intensified cooperation in defence, national security and foreign policy.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP CONFIRMED IN 2023<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The last Franco-British summit was held in Paris in March 2023. It confirmed the content of this long-term, mutually beneficial partnership in the areas of capabilities, industry, operations, deterrence and international cooperation. The two countries also expressed their ambition to further integrate their armed forces by adapting to the security environment: improved logistical cooperation in support of operations, increased intelligence sharing, etc. This determination is reflected in the strengthening of cyber cooperation, as well as in the coordination of deployments of their aircraft carriers to ensure a complementary and more lasting European presence in regions of common interest.<\/p>

This defence relationship is therefore based on three pillars: an ongoing politico-military dialogue, an operational pillar and a capabilities pillar.<\/p>

Maintaining a sustained strategic dialogue, the two countries consult each other regularly at all levels (experts, political directors, ministers, heads of state and government) on security issues. Bilateral cooperation between the two countries is very dynamic, thanks to the involvement of a wide range of governmental, parliamentary, military and senior civil servants.<\/p>

On the operational front, in 2010 the United Kingdom and France set up a joint expeditionary force, the CJEF (Combined Joint Expeditionary Force<\/em>). Bringing together land, air and sea units from both countries, this force can be deployed in theatres of operations on a bilateral basis or as part of a coalition launched by the UN or NATO.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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CLOSER COOPERATION\nIN THEATRES OF OPERATION<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The British and French armies operate jointly in a number of theatres in the Euro-Atlantic area, notably in the eFP (enhanced Forward Presence<\/em>) in Estonia, in the Levant as part of the international coalition and in the Indian Ocean as part of the Combined Maritime forces<\/em> (CMF). The French Defence Staff, which has taken command of the Combined task force<\/em> (CTF) 150 in Bahrain in the second half of 2023. The 501e<\/sup> r\u00e9giment de Chars de combat de Mourmelon, twinned with the Royal Tank Regiment <\/em>(British Army Armoured Regiment), under the command of British tankers, carried out the Lynx mission in Estonia last spring. For its part, 152e<\/sup> regiment of infantry of Colmar is bin\u00f4m\u00e9 with the 2e<\/sup> battalion of the Royal Anglian<\/em>British Army infantry regiment.<\/p>

In the area of capabilities, the Brize-Norton summit on 31 January 2014 saw the signing of new agreements immediately committing major defence programmes:<\/p>