France | Message to the United Kingdom

[Taranis]

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French Republic
Official Correspondence

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Classification: Restricted

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To: Lawrence Adams, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ( Jamie )
From: Dominique de Villepin, Minister for Foreign and Francophone Affairs
Subject: Cross-Channel relations

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Your Excellency,

France and the United Kingdom have had strong bilateral relations for hundreds of years. We are also extremely close partners in industry, the military and our economies. I therefore have the pleasure of suggesting a call or a meeting, depending on your convenience, by you or a suitable representative.

In particular, my Government wishes to discuss the following:

• Situation with Spain
• Situation in the Congo
• The Channel Tunnel (and the Channel in general)
• Military relations
• Pacific security

Please reply at your earliest convenience to confirm if this is possible in the future.

Best wishes,

Dominique de Villepin
Minister for Foreign and Francophone Affairs

 

[Jamie]

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Security Classification: SECRET

To: Dominique de Villepin Taranis
Cc: Lawrence Adams, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Subject: Re: Cross-Channel relations

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I have been forwarded your email as the UK Ambassador to France and would love the opportunity to engage in early discussions with yourself regarding UK-FR Relations.

I would be happy to have a phone call to start conversations on the topics raised in your agenda at your earliest availability, I am happy to work around your schedule. Depending on your availability, I would be able to jump on a call tomorrow morning if this isn't too short notice enough but if so, please let me know any preferred dates and times.

Kindest Regards,
Jack Wood

Jack Wood | UK Ambassador to France |

 

[Taranis]

​

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French Republic
Official Correspondence

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Classification: Restricted

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To: Jack Wood, British Ambassador to France ( Jamie )
From: Dominique de Villepin, Minister for Foreign and Francophone Affairs
Subject: Re: Re: Cross-Channel relations

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Mr Wood,

I can confirm that I can have a call with you tomorrow; indeed, I am available at any time at short notice if you wish.

Kind regards,
Dominique de Villepin
Minister for Foreign and Francophone Affairs

 

[Jamie]

Following email correspondence, the next morning the British Ambassador to France took comfort in his private office and collected some notes that related to the proposed agendas. He spent around an hour working through them to refresh himself on some of the affairs mentioned before finally picking up the phone and attempting to dial the French Minister of Foreign and Francophone Affairs. If put through to reception, Jack made sure to introduce and identify himself as the UK Ambassador with a scheduled meeting with Dominique. He waited patiently for a few moments, hoping to be received for their initial discussions.

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

The call would reach the Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Secretary, who would notify the Secretary-General of the Hotel Matignon. Finally, it would reach Dominique himself. While it was being routed through the appropriate channels, his office would gather relevant notes and briefings, so that by the time he picked up the phone, he would have everything he needed.

"Mr Wood," he said, "It is a pleasure to be able to talk to you, I believe for the first time? I hope you are well. As you will no doubt be aware, our agenda begins with the situation in Spain. As a close political and geographic neighbour, I have to say we are concerned about the situation with Spain- and with the recent developments with Thailand. Tell me, what's the current situation as a whole? Of course, if you need any assistance, either in the European or the Pacific theatre, we are happy to help."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Likewise, it's great to speak to you on what I hope will be the first of many discussions. In fact, I believe it's worked quite well with your government only just entering office and I only just becoming the UK Ambassador to France, I'd like to think we're both in the same position." he paused, "Fortunately I can safely say the situation between Spain and the US is behind us. The now former Prime Minister of Spain and some government aides had expressed what appeared to be political interest in taking Puerto Rico from the United States. That went as well as you could possibly imagine.

It wasn't long before the Spanish Prime Minister was stood down and a public apology made. During that time, Thailand had deployed what they named a 'peacekeeping force' of 22 frigates to Europe. They had cancelled that deployment due to the apology from Spain but it certainly raised concern. After all... 22 armed frigates, I don't think can be categorized as peacekeeping. They did end that deployment though following peace been established between the US and Spain so I suppose they did keep to their word. I think we're lucky that nothing more came from it but it definitely put Europe in the spotlight."

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

Dominique listened intently for a few moments, while scribbling some notes. When he finished, the Prime Minister sat back in his chair.

"I see, thank you. Well, I'm only glad that this didn't escalate into something bigger, and that peace was achieved. We'll be more careful in our interactions with Spain from now on.

"Since I don't see anything else to discuss, unless you'd like to raise something, I'll move onto the Congo... the situation seems to have resolved itself, is that correct? What's the situation there as of now?"

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"We're hoping to open dialogue with Spain, the concern raised between them and the United States have understandably become a cause for concern especially considering Gibraltar. They'll be talks between the UK and Spain due to take place but besides from that, I'm happy to report that it looks like the situation is now in the past. I figure all we can do is to ensure we all work together to prevent a repeat. After all, the risk of armed conflict in Europe in the last few years seems to be on the rise.

Congo is, well, out of the UKs area of interest so intelligence we have on the matter is scarce. I know the basics in that the Imperial State of Congo begun their invasion of the Republic of Congo in August last year. I'm not sure what their expectations were in terms of a victory but that invasion continues today with millions displaced and thousands dead. There's been discussions in the Global Assembly of a Peacekeeping force but it's quite a stale subject. Understandable I suppose, deploying foreign troops to a war zone for peacekeeping has some huge dangers to contend with. It's not a conflict any country has come out to offer peacekeepers for yet other than Thailand I believe.

Although, I think Thailand's offer was mostly for their own benefit - they're seeking to be the next world power so seem to be having their hand in anything they can, but I don't think there's any form of maliciousness in that either. Might I query your own foreign policy when it comes to Africa? The current UK governments area of interest is Europe and Asia. We have a limited presence in the Atlantic and have no real connections in Africa."

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Of course, I completely understand. Your situation is unique because of Gibraltar. I am happy to say that, in the event of any diplomatic or military crisis in Europe, we will unequivocally be on your side and, by extension, your allies.

"Our relations with Africa seem to be secure, if quiet, at least as of now. We are very interested in Africa due to our historical ties to the continent, and they should remain that way. We also plan on having a large base on Réunion, which will bolster our connections with and presence in Africa, as well as our military capabilities. Our policy is, put simply, keep our eyes open for any possible threats to France and our Francophone countries, which we regard as useful allies if needed. To that end we plan on increasing our presence in the region, including a radar station and a naval base.

"I'd like to reiterate our close and very special relationship, and in the event of any crisis or escalation in Africa, we hope that we can work together, both of us with territories and close historical links to the continent."

After waiting to see if there were any further queries, Dominique would continue.

"And that brings me smoothly onto military cooperation. We, of course, have cooperated militarily for a long time, and even more so in the past century. I'd like to raise the example of the SEPECAT Jaguar, an example of what we can do if we work together.

"I'd like to continue that, and I was hoping if we could work on two key areas- military procurement, and mutual defence. On procurement, we have some items we wish to purchase from the United Kingdom:"

10x Lake-class Patrol Vessels
5x Leaf-class Tankers
200x Snatch Land Rovers

"Do you think that would be possible?"

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Your support is greatly appreciated and I echo the special relationship between the UK and France, anything that happens to France or vice versa no doubt impacts the other so cooperating is of huge value to both of us and it's something I hope we can develop further. Although Africa isn't in our immediate mandate, we would help allies where possible in the region, or anywhere else for that matter. We certainly understand the complications that take place from oversea territories.

All our defence sales is handled by Nexus Defence, they're a private firm but are heavily tied into UK defence infrastructure. I can discuss the procurement with my contact at Nexus and ask them to get in touch direct regarding the potential selling of the products mentioned if you're happy with that? I can't see it been an issue and it's an idea I would endorse.

Mutual Defence, with our geographies is naturally more important but cooperation in general would be nice to explore. Perhaps, and it may take some work, but a cooperation agreement could be conjured. This could include defence elements but general security of the tunnel, the English Channel, Search and Rescue operations between, promoting economic growth between the UK and France and other vital elements that could benefit us both.

Perhaps I could work on a draft, or if you have anything that we could develop further and work from there? If it's something you'd support?"

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Of course, this would be most welcome. By all means talk to your counterparts at Nexus; they can contact myself directly if they wish."

"As for mutual defence, once our military is fully functional we can discuss this further, but as we already have proposed a structure for a military, and we are starting to construct infrastructure for it, we can make a start.

"I particularly like the idea of cooperation in the Channel, and security of the Channel Tunnel. Perhaps we could work on improving border security and making it more efficient? It would certainly boost tourism to both our countries. In addition, we could have agreements for the stationing of troops in our territories; though that is something which would require more delicate negotiations if you wish to pursue it?

"I am happy for you to start work on a draft. I am sure my Government can come up with more proposals of our own in the meantime."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"I'll start working on a draft for a cooperation agreement and get that sent over as soon as possible, I'll include as much as I can muster and then we can sit down together and review it to make it work well for both of us. Perhaps I can incorporate elements of the Channel Tunnel and our areas of focus. I'm not sure of the benefit of troops in each others territory, or at least, it would be difficult for me to justify. Security at the moment is managed through local law enforcement and our border force so maybe encouraging closer ties between those would be the way to go?" he asked curiously, knowing that the border force budget was currently at an all time low.

"Whats your thoughts on the responsibilities of the tunnel? It's not something we've had much chance to explore with previous governments. I figure that France is responsible for those arriving or leaving France, vice versa, but any issues half way wouldn't have an obvious accountable party unless we both would agree shared responsibility?"

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Yes, I understand the sovereignty and political implications of having our forces in Britain, and vice versa. I believe at the moment we have juxtaposed controls in each others' countries? If you want, to accommodate any concerns over sovereignty, we could move back to a more traditional system with French border control on the French side and British border control on your side? It would make the process a lot less expensive and would allow for more security to be deployed without concerns of accommodation and transport and so on."

"We could have a system of shared responsibility, with the tunnel being split halfway and each country having sovereignty over their half. It would mean the entire tunnel is policed, or at least that jurisdiction would be clarified. Would that be acceptable?"

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"We're happy to maintain juxtaposed controls, if it's something your government are happy with. Financially it's not much of a concern for us but we'd be in support of swapping to another system if this is something you'd prefer. At the end of the day, the Channel Tunnel is a huge system that impacts us both, positively but also negatively. We've had a significant number of French Governments over the last few years that unfortunately had bigger concerns then to be able to confirm how you'd like to approach certain areas. Your last government saw mass evacuations of diplomatic missions due to riots, it's a good step forward just to be able to ask the question regarding border control.

As a side note, we're in the process of deploying a Frigate on a patrol in the Indian Ocean. They're due to set off in the next few days but I was wondering your thoughts on having them make port in France for a days excursion? We could use it as an opportunity to invite residents to have a look around, take photographs, etc. It might serve as good PR."

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Very well, if you wish. Of course I can assure you this Government is looking to remain stable, with clear-cut policies and a vision for France. We were elected on those principles, after all."

"I am happy to allow you to dock in our territories.. currently we do not have any operational bases, however we still have existing bases and infrastructure. It could be a stepping stone to further cooperation. I can arrange for civilian contractors to manage those ports if needed. Just tell us where you hope to dock."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"If suitable, Marseille would be an ideal option for our frigate to make port as it transits through the Mediterranean. The visit would only be for half a day, a full day most depending on your preference but we'll make sure its sporting UK and FR flags to show our support in cooperating closer together. This will be arriving in the next couple of days provided this is acceptable? If there's anything you'd require to know about the Frigate beforehand, I can make sure to deliver the information.

One topic I do feel worth discussing is the recent statement made by your government in New Caledonia, all I can do is offer my condolences for your officers that were attacked. I don't know much about the situation happening there but I do hope you're able to bring it to a quick conclusion."

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"Our military should be recruited within the next few days, in time for your frigate to arrive. Since we trust you we won't need any further information, but for adminstrative purposes we would nee to know the complement of the ship.

"Thank you for your condolences, they have shaken our government too. Speaking of which, if Britain could help in peacekeeping, it would be much appreciated."

 

[Taranis]

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Absolutely, we'll ensure all weapon systems are disarmed whilst in French territorial waters and are stowed away safely for obvious reasons. They'll be a Lynx Helicopter on-board although will remain static and a crewed complement of 183 sailors. There are two small RHIBs on-board but like the helicopter, they'll remain within the vessel itself.

While I do appreciate the trust you have in us to deliver a peacekeeping capability, it's also an understandably large ask - more from the point of our lack of understanding of the situation. Perhaps a Global Assembly mandated Peacekeeping force may be an option. Could I ask for a full briefing of the situation in New Caledonia? What is the trouble regarding, the scale of it, your current actions to try to counter it? Of course we'll aim to help where possible but as I'm sure you understand, foreign assets can often cause bigger issues in peacekeeping than what was originally intended."

Taranis

 

[Taranis]

"A few days ago, a small group of rebels formed the AINC in Koumac. Since then it has rapidly grown into a force of at least a few hundred, primarily from the Kanak people and socialists in the North Province. So far efforts to close off the North Province have been unsuccessful, due to the rugged terrain and general breakdown of law and order, forcing the police to operate only in large population centres.

"Recently, reinforcements sent from Paris were shot down as they were landing. This attack seeks to have been perpetrated by the AINC. Since then the police on the islands have largely been operating by themselves, against a mostly hostile population, especially in places like Koumac. Our Interior Minister, M, Sarkozy, was killed in an explosion in the north of Paris. We believe that this was also done by the AINC, or at least at their behest.

"The AINC then made a daring raid on the capital, Noumea, and managed to take a prisoner, standing trial for insurrection, right out of the police station where he was being held. After this, we sent heavily armed police to recapture him; but they were ambushed on the road to the AINC camp. Twenty of them are now prisoners and the rest dead or wounded. We are currently preparing a negotiation group to secure their release.

"A Global Assembly force is something we can consider. If we draft one and propose it in the Assembly, I trust I can count on your support, at least in principle?"

Jamie