Summary: The France-UK defence pact will see British and French special forces join together in a 10,000-strong force, it gives the UK the right to borrow the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during the next ten years (when we will no longer have one of our own), and offers sharing and collaboration on unmanned drones and other advanced military hardware. The two countries will also combine the testing and maintenance of their nuclear arsenals and collaborate on nuclear warheads for the next 50 years. This is mainly about budget tightening here and outre-Manche. The economic crisis has made the entente become frugale. The deal has shocked many former military officials and some Tory backbenchers, and the right-wing press has enjoyed bringing up historical disagreements such as Agincourt and Trafalgar. Colonel Tim Collins, a leading figure in the British army during the Iraq war, has said he is skeptical. “The truth is that for years, the French have punched below their weight.” True? Does moving the entente from "cordiale" to "intime" threaten the security of the nation? Philip Barber wrote in The Telegraph letters that it will, whereas George Grant, of the Henry Jackson Society, feels more cocorico about it. Listen to them debate the matter out
