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AAt the Châtelet de Boulinier branch, a Paris bookstore that has stocked books in English since 1845, shoppers reflected yesterday on a series of British newspaper headlines threatening to send Royal Navy gunboats aboard the invading French trawlers in case they did not reach a commercial agreement agreement.
Anglophiles like Didier Aubert, 72, a retired civil servant, said the threats were “ridiculous.”
“This is not how Britain used to behave. Civilized countries that are destined to be close allies should not be reduced to this. I fully understand Britain leaving the EU and I would love for France to do the same, but this Brexit drama is now absurd. It seems that some Brits, people I normally respect enormously, have no idea what they are doing, ”Aubert said.
He added: “Who would have thought that the British would be threatening France with their army because no one can agree on a trade deal?”
Of all its European neighbors, France has long been the country that Britain, minus Scotland, still loyal to the Auld Alliance, loves to hate.
In France, this animosity is not reciprocal in a generalized way. In general, the French like the British and while they may be fed up with endless Brexit negotiations taking over the news agenda, they regret that Britain apparently can’t wait to see their backs.
They also don’t understand why Brits are swooning over the Netflix series Emily in Paris, and they love to settle in their country, acquiring properties in Normandy and the Dordogne, but apparently they don’t like the people they find here.
“I love England, and especially London. Everything from the sense of style and energy to the underground is very impressive, ”said Redouane Belkacem, a 16-year-old student. Observer. “London is also a city where many different people come together to make the best of life. No matter what your culture is, you are welcome. “
Lilas Farré, 18, an art student from Paris, was sad that Brexit was ending free movement. “The sad thing for people my age is that Brexit will make it much more difficult for us to spend long periods in Britain. Students will certainly find it much more complicated, and that is very sad. I have been to England many times, mainly London and Exeter, and I love it. I love the culture, the atmosphere, rock music and, above all, the English themselves, ”said Farré.
Jâcques de Roquefeuil, 65, a former employee of France’s SNCF state railway, had just returned from a visit to Northumberland and said that he had often stayed in Grantham, the birthplace of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, or as the French call it, The Dame of do (Iron lady).
“The people I know were not supporters of Thatcher and they are not too impressed with Boris Johnson. Of course, I want things to go well with Brexit, because a smooth transition is very important for Britain and the EU. Unfortunately, the Brexit process is not proving easy. “
He added: “I have a lot of friends in Britain and I love civilization and the countryside, so this is all very sad for me.”
Imad Attahiri, 34, a social worker, said he believed Brexit was about the economy, not culture. “It really is about the British people’s choice.”
Aside from concerns about the future of French trawlers if they are excluded from British coastal waters, Brexit is not high on the country’s news agenda. The French have other fish to fry.
Like Britain, France is battling the economic, cultural and social consequences of the coronavirus, and has also faced recent protests, involving Black Bloc agitators who clashed violently with police, over a new security law.
Even Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National (formerly Front National), among the fiercest critics of the EU in France, has seen the way the Brexit wind blows and stopped mentioning Frexit.
“The British are obsessed with Brexit by nature, but that doesn’t mean we are,” said Bruno Thomas, 63, a manager of a Paris cafe. “We have too many problems of our own.”
