Slight drift thread, however, I recently attended a briefing by a very senior, very erudite, FR-A officer, who outlined in some detail the assistance France gave to the UK during teh Falklands War, including very specific information on the Exocet missiles. This was in the context of France being a key European player, both in coalitions and (now) within NATO.France and the UK have a very similar strategic position, and putting aside cracks about our 'eternal enemy' (the French make the same joke, too), France should be our strategic partner of choice as we see the growing isolationism in the US - and the mid-Terms are demonstrating this.