And how would it have changed the UK and France over the last 50 years?
Please state whether you are British or French!
2007-01-16 22:43:32 · 9 answers · asked by Alyosha 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Hi - I'm British.
Did you know that Churchill offered France the prospect of unification as the Germans were rolling towards Paris in 1940?
It would have enabled all French military forces to fight on / flee to England.
2007-01-17 08:36:23 · answer #1 · answered by Shtarkers 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Such a union would have been terrible for the UK, and most of the rest of the West.
As a separate power, UK proved a staunch foe of the Soviet Union and to help buck up the rest of NATO.
France played a far different role during the Cold War - consistently making demands of and causing trouble for their nominal NATO allies.
A French-British Union would most likely have watered down both British economy and forced the British to waste their resources protecting France's colonial empire.
We would probably see a much stronger, and much less free, European Union today, presuming of course that the Soviet Union still falls apart sometime in the 90s.
2007-01-17 04:16:05 · answer #2 · answered by swilhelm73 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never happen too much water under the seine river? ha ha
they just date back too many years of difference. They have a real dichotomy of differences. French had problems with England after the revolution and it won't change, no matter what England could not trust the French or visa versa. They are fine as long as they stay a part, but they should be allies but they will be again unless they do the same crap as last time and separate their allies and then France will get creamed this time, no one will appreciate their inevitable treachery and I do believe we will let them swing in the wind until it is over because this time if we help we are going to own it like we should have after the war, but they used Russia to avoid any takeovers so now they are knee deep in Arab/Russian Allies so let em swing.
2007-01-16 22:52:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm American, but was living in Scotland during that time. The main problem is the question is entirely hypothetical. DeGaulle would never have allowed it, and there is a history between the two countries that up until recently I would said would always make them allies in any serious flare up, but the changes in thinking since my the days of my childhoold have been so exponential, I wouldnt' make any bets.
2007-01-17 00:08:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am English, and this i feel came about due to French economy being very poor at the time, but as there were already Canada there didnt seem any point to having a european version, now as equal partners in th eu it happened anyway
2007-01-16 22:53:58 · answer #5 · answered by trudidog7 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had to read the date on the newspaper when I read about this, I thought it was an April Fools joke.
No, it wouldn't be a good idea, if anything I think it would have accelerated the chances of another Anglo-French War.
2007-01-17 00:42:42 · answer #6 · answered by Hendo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As an Englishman i would have loved it , if we could have got over the love hate relation, by now we would have the best of both worlds , accept for the snails
2007-01-17 02:05:44 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
funny i thought that this has been slowly happening since the UK joined what was then the EEC in 1973 British
2007-01-16 22:52:01 · answer #8 · answered by The Fat Controller 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, I think we would have got a lot more from the EU!
2007-01-17 02:36:04 · answer #9 · answered by Beau Brummell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋