“It’s time to meet up with France”
10:35 p.m., September 17, 2022
In her residence located a few steps from the Elysée, all dressed in black as well as her collaborators, Menna Rawlings welcomed this week a number of former presidents and Prime Ministers who came to bring their condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth. François Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, Édouard Philippe or Lionel Jospin came to testify to a friendship between France and the United Kingdom which endures beyond quarrels and differences. The opportunity for the ambassador, beyond respect for mourning, to focus on the essential battles in which Paris and London are engaged together.
Were you surprised by the amount of global attention given to the death of Queen Elizabeth, from the announcement of her death until the funeral performed on Monday?
Not really, this ten-day period has been prepared for a long time, for years. It may seem long but there has not been a state funeral in the UK since those of George VI and those of Winston Churchill. As for the weight of emotion and interest in traversing the world, it doesn’t surprise me either because Elizabeth’s reign was so long that her influence in one summer was all the greater. Its first head of government, Churchill, was born in 1874 and our new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, was born in 1975. So she saw a century of history pass before her eyes as she walked through the four rooms of the globe for seventy years. Her dignity and constancy have been noticed throughout these decades and the younger generation has been able to access her all over the world thanks to the success of the famous series. The crownalthough this fiction is not entirely factual.
But what to say to these so many populations who do not understand this overmediatization of the mourning of the royal family and the British while the earth continues to turn with its share of tragedies?
It is not the choice of the royal family, which only applies a protocol linked to our history and its traditions. But if many people in countries do not want to change or maintain it, that is up to them. And no one is saying that this event is more important than all the others, including the war in Ukraine, global warming, the global economic crisis or the pandemic. That said, this period of mourning can also be a time of unity and stability for the United Kingdom and for its relations with the rest of the world.
“
I do not see at this moment what to suggest that our kingdom is disunited
“
Were you shocked by these editorials or press comments, particularly in Scotland or Ireland, evoking precisely a “disunited kingdom” which faces serious challenges?
I believe that this ten-day period which will end on Monday must be one of mourning and respect. This does not mean that our country does not face difficulties like many other countries in Europe or elsewhere in the world. With regard to the future of the United Kingdom, my government thinks and works so that the union of its nations is protected and safeguarded while respecting the powers evolved to each of them. But I do not see at this moment what to suggest that our kingdom is disunited. We are living a great moment of unity as you have seen with the King’s visit to Scotland, Belfast and Wales. He wants to be the king of the whole kingdom and not just a part. He shook hands with the Irish president and his mother had already played a major role in the reconciliation when she stormed off to Ireland in 2011 for a state visit, which was historic for a woman whose step-uncle was murdered by the IRA.
Read also – Will King Charles III be as good a diplomat as Elizabeth II?
Is there a security risk for this national funeral which will bring together several million people in London on Monday?
I don’t know of any particular threat directed against the ceremonies. But given the world we live in and the number of heads of state invited as well as the expected crowds, security will be extremely tight. The organization of the security of this event has been prepared for a long time because our police and surveillance services have always known that the queen was not eternal. I’m sure everything will go well. Since the London Olympics in 2012, our law enforcement agencies have been accustomed to such major events.
It has been said that this gathering of hundreds of world leaders should not give rise to parallel diplomacy to respect the time of mourning. Yet isn’t it useful to have so many leaders in the same place to try to appease such and such a conflict?
I have no doubt that there will be conversations behind the scenes, especially for our Prime Minister who has just taken office, but this will indeed be a day of mourning, tributes and respect. Especially since many of these leaders will be attending the United Nations General Assembly the next day.
Liz Truss will travel to New York the day after the funeral. Will she go to kyiv as she promised?
It’s possible. But everything has gone so fast since the Prime Minister was invested. What is certain is that our Minister of Foreign Affairs is attending the meeting of the Security Council given by France and devoted to the human rights situation in Ukraine since the Russian military aggression.
“
I believe that the war in Ukraine has brought all the allies together
“
Is it still recommended to have a Franco-British summit by the end of the year?
The Prime Minister and President Macron have already spoken about it, but the question of the calendar is more complicated. The arrival of a new team in Downing Street and the death of the Queen have upset the agendas. If there is to be a summit, it will have to be at the right time and well prepared.
How would you qualify the Franco-British relationship at the moment?
I arrived here a year ago, almost the day the Aukus pact between Australia, UK and US was announced, and then there were difficult conversations about fishing or immigration ; but I must say that, a year later, the relationship is much more positive. I believe that the war in Ukraine has brought all the allies closer together, that the United Kingdom remains very committed to the defense and security of Europe. We are on very similar positions in all the major forums where we sit with France, Germany or Italy, the Security Council or the G7. Our two populations also have closer relations than we think. We’ve been through some tough times together but I think it’s time to come together for better days.
Read also – Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: is this bad news for France?
In the time of Queen Elizabeth, your country’s foreign and economic policy invested heavily in the European Union and the Commonwealth. With Brexit, Liz Truss and Charles III, do you comment on the slogan “Global Britain”?
Churchill saw our foreign policy through three circles: Europe, the Commonwealth and the United States. But if we left the EU, that does not mean that we are no longer Europeans and that we cannot have good relations with each of the EU members. Europe is our closest neighbour, but our latest strategic review focuses on another region of the world where we are investing heavily, the Indo-Pacific, in the face of the rise of the new powers of the 21st century, China and the United States. ‘In effect. The Prime Minister spoke about ” refresh “ our doctrines but that is the whole meaning of this concept of “Global Britain”: to be engaged, active and influential in these four geographical circles which correspond to our interests.
Vis-à-vis Russia, has the war in Ukraine changed everything?
Our opposition to Russia was already tough before the war as we were hit on our soil by a Novichok attack in Salisbury against ex-Russian agent Sergei Skripal, in 2018. But the war served as an eye-opener for everyone on Russia. And we intend to take advantage of the next G20 and G7 summits to strengthen the network of democratic countries in order to work together effectively for the defense of our freedoms. We are also required by the idea of a European political community proposed by President Macron and we are going to study this simplified project. The Prime Minister is open to any new idea that could improve the European security architecture and the resilience of Western democracies at large.