L'Entente Frugale: an Analysis of the International and National Factors Shaping Franco-British Defense Cooperation since 2010

In November 2010, France and the United Kingdom signed two defense agreements in Lancaster House, London, marking the most significant military rapprochement between the two countries since the 1956 Suez Crisis. The two agreed to pool key military capabilities and cooperate in defense procurement, as well as build two joint nuclear research facilities. As the two leading military powers in the European Union (EU), France and the United Kingdom set the pace of European defense cooperation. A deepening defense relationship between London and Paris may herald deeper European cooperation in this most fundamental element of national sovereignty. This essay examines two alternative hypotheses to explain Franco-British defense cooperation since 2010. The first holds that the changing international landscape, which is marked by factors like the international financial crisis, changes in the global arms market, and shifts in US priorities, is encouraging cooperation. The other hypothesis posits that national factors, such as concerns about job security and differences over NATO and EU policies, are hampering cooperation. It concludes that international forces are dominant, but warns that certain factors, such as legacy commitments and rising euroscepticism in the United Kingdom, may derail Franco-British and thus European defense integration.