Voltaire praised Scotland as the place where the French Enlightenment philosophers looked “for all [their] ideas of civilisation”, a testimony to ties that I aimed to strengthen when I went to Scotland seven weeks ago. The melancholic weather that Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson celebrated did not deter us from visiting the construction site of Britain’s new aircraft carrier. Having our carriers Charles de Gaulle and HMS Queen Elizabeth operating side by side – something the French and British armed forces have been doing so well since the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties, in particular – is something to look forward to. I was also very pleased to witness at first hand the strong economic ties linking Scotland and France when I met representatives of a Scottish company (the Weir Group) investing in France and of French-owned iconic Scottish brands (such as Chivas whisky).
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