A free lecture series hosted by the School of Politics and Economics which offers students a unique insight into the historical, cultural and political relationship between the UK and France is set to return.

Led by Julien Saint-Quentin, an expert in Franco-British relations, the series will once again cover an array of topics that underpin the relationship between the two European states, with a focus on economics, strategy, history and law.

The series made its debut in 2023 and has proven so popular that it has continued to run annually since.

Julien is a former advisor to the First Sea Lord at the Ministry of Defence and Naval Attaché to the French Embassy in London. He served for more than 20 years in the Marine Nationale (French navy) and has also served as an exchange officer with the Royal Navy.

The eight-part series, entitled Franco-British Relations, starts on 29 January and will run on Thursday evenings. The dates are as follows:

• 29/01/2026
• 05/02/2026
• 12/02/2026
• 19/02/2026
• 05/03/2026
• 12/03/2026
• 19/03/2026
• 26/03/2026

The event is open to all students at King's College London.

 

The programme

History of the relationship

1.1 A thousand-year-old rivalry that shaped the world

From the Hundred Years' War to the Napoleonic Wars, through alliances, counter-alliances and colonisation, it can be argued that our nation-states were born out of their rivalry and through it built a global footprint and influence that persists today.

1.2 An unbreakable alliance, from the battle of Navarino to Libya

Barely a few years after the Battle of Waterloo, the arch-rivals found themselves on the same side for the first time. Forged in the trenches of the First World War, this fraternity of arms has never wavered since whenever it really mattered, despite the weight of history and a certain penchant for bickering.

The economy of the relationship

2.1. Agriculture, trade and the role of the state: understanding a different relationship to risk and investment

Why do the French borrow at fixed rates? Why do the British have leaseholds and freeholds? The nation of shopkeepers and the breadbasket of Europe have, through history, geography and religion, built a different relationship to money, which still endures today through various aspects of our respective economies, however close their fundamentals appear to be.

2.2. The post-war period: the Glorious Thirty, the sick man of Europe and European construction, the underlying principles of the current situation

After the Suez crisis, France chose Europe and the United Kingdom the US. From the Trente Glorieuses to the Thatcherian revolution, the economic cycles have overlapped without ever aligning. The European Union, a lever of power and prestige for one, a utilitarian lifeline at the time for the other: some clues to understanding the aftermath of the relationship after the 2016 referendum.

Legal aspects of the relationship

3.1 Common law and Napoleonic law: opposing, founding and complementary systems

Land and sea, customary tradition versus written law, predictability versus innovation, our legal systems are presented as absolute opposites. Yet, together, they shape international law, from the Geneva Conventions to international criminal justice, from the law of the sea to diplomatic privileges

3.2. Treaties, alliances and values: almost total alignment, global influence, unique impact

Two nuclear powers, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, two cultural powers with global reach: how two medium-sized powers have become champions of a rules-based order.

The strategic relationship

4.1 Converging interests, similar political mechanisms for the use of force

The weight of history and geography is such that today, France and the UK are constantly involved in crises around the world. With the Constitution of the Fifth Republic and the Royal Prerogative, both countries are uniquely equipped to respond, and it is most often inevitable that they will respond together, making interoperability an imperative.

4.2 Tensions between European strategic autonomy, the 'special relationship' and the Commonwealth

Despite this, the tensions between the Special Relationship and the desire for European strategic autonomy are still very much present. With defence industries often in competition, total alignment remains illusory. It is therefore essential to build a realistic relationship, based on common interests where they exist.

*all lectures are subject to change